Unreal
by diceysmiles
Summary: AU/BL Sasuke and Naruto quickly become inseparable when they first meet. But they had goals and plans of their own during the war. They meet on the battlefield but are called to action by their respective leaders. Six years later, their lives have taken on completely different paths but Sasuke's willing to salvage their friendship and much more, no matter what is thrown his way.
1. Fortuitous: Past

_**A/N: I began writing this story sometime last year. I found it in a notebook and decided to edit what I have so far. I will continue it but updates will be slow since I'm currently writing other stories as well.**_

* * *

"Hey, Naruto! Come here, I want to introduce you to somebody!"

Naruto had just walked into his friend's house when he heard his friend call out to him. He arrived alone since he decided at the last minute to actually go to the party. It was almost ten and he didn't plan on staying long. He had to wake up early for work the next morning.

"Oh yeah! Who's that?"

"This is Sasuke. He's from New York," his friend Shikamaru said and then ran off after hearing something fall and break.

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head; feeling a tad sorry for Shikamaru knowing his mom would probably kill him.

Sasuke took in Naruto, he had already heard a lot about him through the others. Not directly, but his name left their lips so often he felt like he should already know him. Naruto wasn't anything like he had pictured him, though. He was a dirty blond who was a couple of inches shorter than Sasuke. Not the squirt they had all said Naruto was. His face was friendly and open, looked almost too innocent. From what Sasuke had heard from the others, Naruto was a hyperactive loud mouth who got into fights as often as he blinked. Naruto's blue eyes were kind but seemed lost — lonely maybe? Sasuke openly gauged him until Naruto turned his attention back to Sasuke.

Sasuke cleared his throat but didn't turn away.

Naruto turned to look at Sasuke who he had been introduced to just moments ago. He noticed Sasuke looking at him but didn't sense any hostility in him. It was quite the opposite, Naruto had the inkling that Sasuke wanted to be friends. Naruto was more than willing to offer up his friendship, especially since he sense the other was basically just like him somehow. But he couldn't pinpoint what exactly because they couldn't be more different than night and day. Sasuke was fair skinned while he had a natural golden tan. Sasuke's hair was as dark as the night. His eyes were dark, mysterious, narrow things. Whatever those eyes had seen, Naruto wanted to know.

Shikamaru's words finally caught up to him; Sasuke wasn't from a small town like him.

"New York?" Naruto whistled. "I hope you didn't walk all the way here. New York to Frondescence by foot takes years..." Naruto whistled again.

"Moron," Sasuke said amused at Naruto's exaggerations.

Sasuke had to admit, though, Naruto was right. It was quite a distance and he felt like he was in a different country — planet even! He was glad he spoke the native tongue — heh.

Naruto laughed and clapped his hand on the other's shoulder good-humoredly.

"Naruto's here!"

"Naruto!"

"Hey, Naruto! Come over here!"

Sasuke looked over at the others who were calling Naruto over. Sasuke felt a little upset. He had just met the guy and Naruto was already being pulled away.

"Ah, yeah, be right there!" Naruto said and chuckled. "Sasuke, come with me? I can't deal with these people on my own."

Sasuke nodded and followed Naruto. He knew that Naruto was only being polite. But he appreciated it all the same.

"Naruto, you hungry?" Choji asked as he took another forkful of food in his mouth.

"Nah, I'm fine. Unless…" Naruto turned to look at Sasuke. "...you're hungry? I'll join you if you are."

"No," Sasuke said simply.

Naruto nodded and shifted so that he was standing right beside the other male.

"Are you kidding? We all ate hours ago! Why are you so late?" Kiba asked annoyed and stood right in front of Naruto with a deep frown.

"Geez, Kiba! I'm here. Lay off already!" Naruto said shoving his friend back. Then he chuckled at the annoyed glare his friend sent him when he landed on his ass. Naruto turned to Sasuke. "He acts as if we're supposed to be joined at the hip or something."

Sasuke snorted at that.

"Look, asshole! We all missed you! This was supposed to be your welcome back party! And you get here late like you don't even care!"

"No one told me that!"

"It was a surprise, idiot!" Sakura told him annoyed.

"Well, no one yelled surprise," Naruto said crossing his arms and pouted.

"Surprise," Sasuke said with an amused smirk catching Naruto off guard.

Naruto grinned at him.

"Na-Naruto?" Hinata said in a soft voice and a light blush spread across her cheeks.

"Hey, Hinata. How've you been?" Naruto said with an affable smile.

"G-good. I just...just wa-wanted to welcome you back. It's nice to see you again."

"Thanks, Hinata. It's good to be back."

"So, why were you late?" Sakura asked as she cracked her knuckles.

"Vicious, much?" Naruto said nervously.

"Why are you being evasive? Did you not want to see us?" Ino said upset.

"Woah! Woah. Woah," Naruto said waving his hands in front of him. "What's with the third degree?"

"Calm down everyone. Naruto's flight was delayed. He came as soon as he could," Shikamaru told the crowd, a silent Shino standing beside him.

"Naruto, nice to see you again," Shino told him in his deep calm voice.

"Who the heck are you?"

"It's not polite to forget friends."

"Yeah, sure. But I...wait a minute!" Naruto said as he inched closer to the other. He looked at him right in his dark lenses. Shino didn't move a muscle. He simply stood there waiting for Naruto to recognize him. Naruto tried to see the eyes behind the lenses to no avail. He circled him and jumped back pointing a finger. "I know who you are! You're...you're…"

"It's Shino, you idiot!" Kiba said annoyed.

"I knew that, jackass!"

"Well, it looked like you were about to have a stroke," Ino said and laughed.

"And you look like you're about to freeze. Ever hear of clothes?"

Sasuke snorted and Naruto realized he wasn't standing beside Sasuke. Naruto inched closer to the other to close the distance.

"Naruto!" Ino shouted upset. Her mouth gaping in shock at her friend's words. Although no one commented on the way she dressed, they all pretty much felt the same way. Ino liked to dress in short skirts that barely covered her ass and low cut crop tops that left little to the imagination. She had long blonde hair with a killer bod that she loved to show off.

"Seriously, though, do you want to borrow my jacket? I'm getting cold just looking at you."

"No! I happen to like what I'm wearing. The color brings out my eyes," Ino said and fluttered her eyelashes.

"That's not all it brings out," Naruto told her and made it a point to stare at her chest.

"Leave her alone! Just because she's dressed like a slut doesn't mean you have to be a pervert about it!" Sakura said raising a fist in the air.

"That's right...hey!" Ino said and shoved her friend. "You're the slut you, flat-chested bimbo!"

The two girls started to argue and Shikamaru rolled his eyes muttering something under his breath.

"Well, they'll do that for the rest of the night," Naruto told Sasuke proud to have distracted them from himself. "Come on." He gestured with his head as he walked towards the kitchen. He looked over his shoulder before he called out to Shikamaru, "I'm getting something to drink."

"Help yourself."

"That was weird, huh?" Naruto said more to himself.

"Hn. Quite a welcome party," Sasuke said carefully not wanting to say anything about the others.

But he didn't find anything about meeting Naruto weird. The word Sasuke would use to describe their meeting would be fortuitous. He had felt like he couldn't take it anymore; he was going crazy feeling closed in without an escape. He hadn't been able to adapt to the small town since his arrival a couple months back but he figured if Naruto was around, it wouldn't be so bad if he stayed a little longer.

"Yeah, they're my closest friends, though. Lucky me, huh?" Naruto said with a grin and cracked opened his can of soda.

"Yeah," Sasuke said after taking a drink from the soda Naruto handed him before Naruto cracked open another for himself. "Where were you?"

"Everywhere in this quadrant really. I was traveling with my godfather."

"Ah."

"I left Frondescence a couple of years ago. The ol' kook finally decided we should head back," Naruto said and smiled. "Whenever we stopped somewhere to get some rest, he mostly left me alone. Fucking asshole. But he's family, you know? As soon as we got here, he took off again. He didn't even tell me. I had to hear it from granny. I'm a little upset. I didn't even want to come tonight."

Sasuke didn't say anything. He simply listened to Naruto ramble. They were leaning against the kitchen counter, shoulders pressed together. Sasuke didn't know why but he had never felt as comfortable with anyone else as he did with Naruto. And they had just met.

"Do you want to get out of here? I'm feeling closed in," Naruto said suddenly breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen between them.

"Sure," Sasuke said with a small smirk. ' _I know exactly what you mean.'_


	2. Fortuitous: Present

Naruto rubbed his brow. He looked up at the sky; the sun was so bright that day. He was sticky with sweat and wanted to do nothing more than to take a nice hot bath. But he still needed to move a few more boxes up to his new apartment. He groaned as he looked at the stairs. Right about now, he was wishing he had taken a downstairs unit. He could've made due with one bedroom. Bah! There was no point in complaining. He took what he needed and that was that. He could complain when he was finished and his muscles were sore. Damn! He really needed to work out more often. He had been slacking off the past few months. Maybe now that he was here, he could take some time for himself. And then immediately felt horrible for thinking that.

The movers came up to him taking him out of his senseless thoughts. They had finished taking up the furniture and needed Naruto to sign off on some paperwork. That done, they closed up the moving truck and drove off leaving the stench of the exhaust behind. Naruto muttered to himself as he waved his hands in front of his face. He could've kicked himself. He hadn't even thought to ask the movers to help him with the last couple of boxes. Nothing doing. He locked up his truck and stacked the two boxes together. He could do this in one last trip. Or that was what he told himself.

He was halfway up the stairs when he felt the box on top start to topple. He began a little dance that he knew if someone was watching, they call him a clumsy idiot. He moved a little to the left, now to the right, back to the left, and little to the front to get the box to sit still. It worked. But not he had to fix his posture to continue the climb. He adjusted his footing but since he couldn't see where he was placing his foot, he slipped.

"Oh, shit!" Naruto said once he felt the ground disappear from under him. Fucking shit!

"Watch it, moron!" a deep voice rumbled behind him. But Naruto didn't have a chance to retort that he wasn't doing it on purpose.

"Uff!" Naruto landed on top of another body and the boxes dropped on top of him. One landing on his groin and the other on his stomach. "Ngh! My balls!"

"Get off!" the deep voice said angrily from underneath him. The words were spoken through gritted teeth.

"So-sorry," Naruto said apologetically and rolled off immediately. He knocked the boxes off him when he shifted.

Naruto wailed and then mumbled something when he heard the boxes tumble down. He heard something break. No, no, no! He stood up quickly to try and catch the boxes before they reached the bottom step.

"Moron, slow down. You're just going to fall again," the other person said.

"But I have to…" Naruto said desperately and jumped the last five steps so that he could catch the boxes midair before they landed on the floor. He felt a little happy that there hadn't been more damage. But he didn't forget the sound of something breaking. He set down the boxes carefully and opened them. "No! Goddamit!"

"What's wrong?"

"It broke," Naruto groaned and lifted up a piece of a mug from its lopsided handle.

"A ceramic cup. Doesn't look like it was worth much," the other said eyeing it. He felt a little bad for the moron but didn't see what was so special about it. It didn't look like it crumbled into bits. If he really wanted to, he could simply super glue the three pieces together.

"It is worth something! My boy gave it to me," Naruto said finally looking up. His eyes widened when he saw the person who had been talking to him.

"Hm? You have a son?" the other said and looked up to meet the curious blue eyes staring at him. "Naruto?"

"Sasuke, hey!" Naruto said with a wide smile completely forgetting about the broken cup in his hands. Or anything else for that matter. He had begun to think he'd never see his friend again.

"So, you're the new neighbor," Sasuke said with an arched brow keeping his face calm. But inside he was feeling the excitement Naruto was putting on display.

"Yeah, that's right! I'm in 216," Naruto said placing the broken ceramic piece carefully back into the box. He closed the lid and gently picked it back up.

"Here, I'll help you with the other one," Sasuke told him and made his way down to retrieve the other box.

"Oh, thanks. I appreciate it," Naruto said in a soft voice, a slight blush on his cheeks.

Sasuke's eyes widened when he noticed but quickly turned away to not to embarrass Naruto further. "Perhaps, this was fortuitous."

It had been six years since they saw each other last. Sasuke had only returned so that he could possibly see Naruto once more. It was time to move forward and leave the past behind. He simply hadn't been able to move on since he had never had...closure? That had to be it.

Perhaps this was the time to close one chapter from his past. Or then again, he could be able to continue where he left off. Decisions; decisions. Sasuke smirked to himself.

"Huh? What did you say?" Naruto said from eight steps above but didn't stop to listen for a response.

"Nothing. I'll be right there," Sasuke said as he lifted the other box. It was surprisingly heavy for something so small. It was roughly the size of a legal box. "What the fuck do you have in here, books?"

"Ah. That one has the photo albums and yeah, I guess a few books!" Naruto said a little louder as he turned a corner.

"A few my ass," Sasuke grumbled following the other.

Sasuke walked into the apartment and set down the box by the entrance. Naruto had walked into one of the bedrooms and came back out. It looked like the movers had tried to place the furniture in some semblance of order but failed miserably. The item that was most out of place was the bed that had been left against the far wall, close to the bedroom but didn't quite make it inside. Sasuke checked his watch and saw he had maybe a half an hour to leave before he was late for work. So much for going in early and getting a head start.

"Thanks again, Sasuke," Naruto said a little too happily since he had only carried one box up.

"Do you need to bring anything else up?" Sasuke asked and Naruto shook his head.

"Nah, that was the last of it. Now comes the fun part," he said but then huffed and plopped onto the sofa that was facing the kitchen and away from him.

Sasuke snorted as he stood awkwardly in the entrance. "I have to go to work in a few but I can at least help you get your bed in your room and maybe rearrange the furniture in here unless you want the kitchen table blocking your TV."

"But I just sat down," Naruto whined and then turned his whole body around using the backrest of the sofa for leverage. "How much time do you have?"

"Now, only twenty-five minutes," Sasuke said looking at his watch again.

"Damn," Naruto said and jumped up. "We don't even have time to catch up. And you definitely don't have time to help me unpack."

He said the last part with a grin. Sasuke simply shook his head. But they got to work right away. They pushed the boxes that were hindering their movements to the side and moved the furniture to their rightful places. The only thing that went into the bedroom was the queen size bed since the only other item in there was a dresser and Naruto said to leave it where it stood. Naruto offered Sasuke a soda that he refused when he checked the time and said a quick goodbye.

They didn't really get a chance to say anything to one another. But they both figured they get the chance another day. They would have to run into each other sooner or later since they lived in the same building and all. So they left the catching up and any questions they might have for one another aside to instead bicker at one another about how to maneuver the furniture. One was lifting too high. The other wasn't turning the right way. Naruto stubbed his toe. Sasuke's finger was pinched between the furniture and the wall. Yet, they both had smiles on their faces when they had to call it a day.


	3. Pebbles: Past

Naruto truly loved spending time with Sasuke and he spent as much time as possible with his newest friend. There just wasn't anyone like him. It was easy to be around him and he never had to worry about saying the wrong thing. The most he'd ever get from Sasuke was a roll of eyes or an insult like moron or idiot. And even then, most times Sasuke would be smiling and never questioned why they were friends or told him his was weird. They bickered but never really argued. His other friends, well they'd get pissed at him sometimes. They just didn't understand him the way he Sasuke did. Not to mention, they weren't always available. They had curfews or responsibilities and seemed to be upset that Naruto simply didn't get it. Sasuke was always free and even when he wasn't, he make time for Naruto. Even if Naruto was simply in the same room with him while Sasuke did whatever it was he had to do, Naruto couldn't be happier. Because once Sasuke was finished, he'd give Naruto his undivided attention.

This day, in particular, the gang had wanted to go out to eat and made plans accordingly once school was done for the day. For whatever reason, they wanted to celebrate the fact that they all had the same afternoon off. For a few hours, that was. Naruto wouldn't have thought twice about it - that was before he met Sasuke - and would've happily gone with them. They were his friends after all and he loved to spend time with them. But Naruto could tell that Sasuke wasn't in the mood to be around other people. Naruto noticed this happen from time to time and he always came up with an excuse for his new friend to get out of whatever gathering was expected of them. Sasuke never actually voiced that he didn't want to hang out with them on these occasions but his body language let Naruto know that Sasuke wasn't too happy being around too many people when he was in certain moods.

Naruto and Sasuke had only known each other for about three weeks and hadn't disclosed anything personal about themselves. In a way, they really didn't feel the need to since certain things were just plain obvious. Making them similar in more ways than not. Neither had to ask permission to go out with their friends nor did they have to get home in time for dinner. They didn't have mothers to ring their necks if they didn't. And whenever they went to each other's respective apartments not only was there a lack of other people in their homes but there weren't any family pictures on display either. Yet, neither asked one another about parents or family. They simply accepted that they were both alone without having to acknowledge the fact by talking about it. Sasuke tended to be more reserved about his personal life and Naruto didn't like to talk about anything that could potentially make him gloomy. But the most common attribute that they both had was that neither of them liked to pry.

Since they hadn't gone out to dinner with everyone else, Sasuke had offered to cook for Naruto once they arrived at his house. After they ate, they had gravitated to Sasuke's room to relax. Naruto lay on Sasuke's bed while Sasuke sat on the floor to read. His back resting on the bed itself. Out of nowhere, Naruto sighed loudly and said abruptly, "I'm bored!"

"You can leave anytime you wish," Sasuke said without looking up from his book nor reacting in any other way to Naruto's outburst. He was quite used to it even though it had only been a short time that they'd known one another.

"That would be even more boring!" Naruto said and slid off the bed to sit beside Sasuke. Naruto side eyed Sasuke who was still reading. Naruto pressed his hand over the book and pushed it down to interrupt his reading. Sasuke finally turned to face him with a raised brow. Naruto smiled happy that Sasuke wasn't annoyed. "How about we play a game of random questions?!"

Sasuke snorted at Naruto's excitement. Naruto took that to mean, Sasuke was willing to play. He adjusted himself to sit cross-legged while he scratched his chin thinking of something to ask. Sasuke didn't have to think about it, he was more than prepared. He used to play that game with his brother when he was younger.

"Would you rather have an arranged marriage or spend the rest of your life being single without being allowed to date anyone?" Sasuke asked and looked at Naruto with an amused smile.

"What?" Naruto asked surprised and gaped at Sasuke. "I've never even been on a date! Why would you take that option away from me?!"

Sasuke snorted and waited for an answer with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, what? You're telling me you've been on a date before?"

"Hn," Sasuke said a smirk now visible on his lips.

"I didn't think so," Naruto said and nudged Sasuke who started to chuckle. "Well, since I've never been on a date and therefore have no idea what I've been missing, I guess...I'll say… I'll live without them," Naruto said none too happy as he said the last part of the answer.

"So no arranged marriage then?"

"Hell no! What if I get stuck with a weirdo like Shino or someone super shy like Hinata. Can you imagine?" Naruto said shaking his head.

"She has a crush on you," Sasuke said nonchalantly.

"Who?" Naruto said surprised. Sasuke looked at him like he was stupid and Naruto cleared his throat. "You mean Hinata?"

"Hn."

"Nah, she's just… Oh, god," Naruto said standing up and began to pace back and forth. "What do I have to do?"

"Nothing. Unless you like her back. Do you?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"Nuh uh," Naruto said shaking his head and making an X with his arms.

"Then just be yourself. I doubt she'll ever confess to you or anything. She's too shy," Sasuke said with a shrug.

"You think so? God, I hope so," Naruto said and sighed, sitting back down.

"Why? She isn't your type?"

"Is she yours?"

"No."

"Exactly!"

"It's your turn," Sasuke said and nudged Naruto.

"Oh yeah! Let's see," Naruto said and scratched his chin then began to chuckle. "Okay, if you could choose only one, would you rather have clean socks or clean underwear for the rest of your life?"

"Clean underwear," Sasuke said quickly without even giving it a thought.

"That's it? You're not even going to weigh the pros and cons?"

"I don't have to. It's an easy answer. I don't need socks; I'd just get rid of them all together," Sasuke said and lifted his pant leg showing off a sockless foot inside his sneaker.

"Oh my, are you showing me your ankle? You pervert!" Naruto said in a girlie voice that was still thick of masculinity and pretended to be completely appalled.

Sasuke laughed at that and shoved Naruto who began to chuckle.

"So I should've known that you don't wear socks. At least I know you are fond of underwear," Naruto said and eyed Sasuke suspiciously. "You are fond of underwear aren't you?"

"That's a personal question," Sasuke with a smirk. "That's something I'd only answer on, maybe, the...fifth date?"

"Five? Damn! You're a prude!" Naruto said and chuckled. "You could slut it up a bit and give up the info on the third date."

"Third? No, I don't think my conscience would ever be comfortable with that," Sasuke said with an amused smile. "I can, however, compromise on and say date number four."

"Wow! You're really living now!" Naruto said and they both chuckled.

"Either way, you would never find out since you chose never to date anyone ever again," Sasuke said with a shrug.

Naruto stared at him mouth agape. "That was your plan all along, wasn't it?"

"Perhaps." Was the short reply.

"Fine, keep your underwear secret."

Then they both chuckled at the idiocy of their conversation.

"Alright then, next question," Sasuke said and Naruto nodded. "Would you rather perform CPR on a random stranger or eat two whole raw habanero peppers?"

"Gah! I hate spicy food!" Naruto said and began to fan his face with his tongue out. Sasuke looked at him amused. "But there is no way that I can watch some random person die just because I don't want to put my lips on them." Naruto seemed lost in thought for a moment. "Let me ask you this: in this scenario, would I have already had my first kiss?"

"Uh," Sasuke looked at him surprised. "You've never kissed anyone before?"

"Nope."

"Oh, well I don't think CPR compares to kissing. I mean you're blowing air into someone else's mouth not sticking your tongue down their tonsils."

"Sticking my tongue down their tonsils?" Naruto asked and began to laugh. Sasuke realizing what he had said began to chuckle. "Who the hell have you been kissing? I don't think that's kissing. You might want to ask for your money back."

"Yeah, I don't think I can ever get it back or my self-respect," Sasuke said and laughed.

"You've never kissed anyone before, have you?" Naruto said looking at Sasuke with a sideway glance.

"I have but I think it was in the first grade or something like that," Sasuke said with a soft smile. A bit of a blush creeping up his cheeks.

"Wow! How old were you then?"

"I don't know, six I suppose," Sasuke said with a shrug.

"And this person stuck their tongue in your mouth?"

"It seemed right at the time. I didn't question it," Sasuke said and chuckled.

"But if you haven't kissed anyone since then, I suppose it wasn't a pleasant experience," Naruto said suddenly feeling wise.

"Hn," Sasuke said with a slight blush and looked away.

"That's too bad. I hear kissing is quite pleasurable," Naruto said and chuckled.

"Says who, moron, the dog next door?"

"Well, he licks his balls so I stopped taking advice from him when I sprained my leg trying to do the same," Naruto said trying to keep a straight face but upon seeing Sasuke's horrified expression, he began to laugh hard enough that he couldn't even breath.

After a few minutes of non-stop laughing by the two, Sasuke cleared his throat and tried to reign in his own laughter. Naruto wiped tears from his eyes and took a shuddered breath to regain composure.

"I suppose since neither of us knows the joys of kissing," Sasuke said and shook his head, ridding himself of a stray thought that was neither here nor there. "You should probably be able to kiss someone prior to running into a stranger that is passed out and in need of CPR."

"Oh, you're too kind, Sasuke. I'm glad that I won't run into a stranger in need of my air," Sasuke snorted, "prior to having my first kiss. So with that in mind, I'd rather have the two habanero peppers."

"Are you kidding me? You moron! Did we go through all that? Exposing my embarrassing first kiss ordeal with a tongue so that you could choose the habanero peppers?" Sasuke said feigning outrage.

"Well, eating habanero peppers sounds more exciting after all that tongue and tonsil talk," Naruto said with a shrug.

"More than licking your balls?" Sasuke said pointedly.

"Which I've never done," Naruto said just to make sure Sasuke didn't get the wrong idea.

"I never thought you did."

"Phew! I would hate for you to picture me trying to lick my own balls," Naruto said with a wide grin.

"Moron," Sasuke said with a chuckle shaking his head at the thought.

"Alright, my turn again," Naruto said clapping his hands together and rubbing them for good measure. Sasuke simply smiled. "Would you rather go without toilet paper or toothpaste for the rest of your life?"

"Toilet paper," Sasuke said and shrugged like it was a given.

"You didn't even think about the answer! How can you be absolutely sure that you can live without toilet paper? What if you have a messy shit one day and your ass gets all itchy because you didn't have anything to wipe with?"

"It sounds like you've had that problem before," Sasuke said and scooched away from Naruto.

"And you haven't?"

"No, I can't say I've ever had an itchy ass because of lack of toilet paper," Sasuke said casually.

"I don't believe you! You see kids all the time scratching their ass because they didn't wipe right," Naruto said in an accusing tone and pointing at Sasuke who simply moved the hand away.

"What are you some sort of weird pedophile? Why are you watching kids so closely that you know whether or not they have an itchy ass?"

"You don't have to stare at kids to notice, asshole! You can just be standing in line at the store minding your own business and a kid who happens to be in line in front of you starts jumping around. Next thing you know he's digging into his crack trying to scratch an itch that he can't get rid of! Don't tell me that you've never seen that happen?"

Sasuke began to chuckle and he shook his head.

"Are you kidding me?!"

"No, I've never seen a kid digging into his ass," Sasuke said with a smirk. "I've seen them digging into their nose trying to reach their brains."

"Yeah," Naruto said and began to laugh. "I've seen that too! Kids are disgusting creatures."

"I agree. But still, I don't see why it's so bad to not have toilet paper. I could always shower afterwar-"

"You can't take a shower every time you take a shit, asshole! That's not an option!" Naruto said cutting him off.

"Then I can wipe with something else," Sasuke said matter of fact.

"No, you can't! There'd be no paper in the house at all!"

"Not even newspaper?" Sasuke said amused.

"No, so do you change your answer?" Naruto said staring at Sasuke. He had turned his body fully so that he could look at Sasuke face to face.

"No, I won't. I don't need paper. I can wipe my ass with the pebbles from the bottom of the fish tank," Sasuke said with a straight face.

"Pfft!" Naruto fell over on his side laughing hard enough for tears to stream from his eyes. He had his arms around his stomach and started saying between gasps of air, "Fuck...it...hurts!"

Sasuke was looking at him with a wide grin. Only keeping himself from laughing, simply because it was at his own expense.


	4. Pebbles: Present

Naruto walked out into the hallway dressed casually in light gray joggers, a white v-neck tee paired with a chunky navy blue cardigan and his blue chukka sneakers. He turned around to lock the door when he heard footsteps coming towards him. He looked up and saw Sasuke. He hadn't seen him since the day he moved in. A couple of days had already passed and Naruto felt a little nervous about seeing his old friend again. He blushed a little and looked away so that he could take a deep breath and control the heat he could feel on his face.

Sasuke had his hands in the pockets of his black cropped pants that he wore with black Cortez double monk strap slip-ons paired with a longline light blue shirt and a navy blue suede bomber jacket. Naruto had to admit to himself that Sasuke looked nice. And was happy that Sasuke hadn't noticed him or his flushed face seconds ago that he was able to will away. Sasuke seemed to be lost in thought looking at nothing. Naruto cleared his throat before he smiled and raised a hand to his new neighbor and old friend.

"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto said cheerfully.

"Hello," Sasuke said now looking Naruto and walked up to him. His timing couldn't have been more perfect. He had been debating for a couple of days now whether he should just go up and knock. He already knew why Naruto hadn't come looking for him. He had never told Naruto which apartment he lived in. But Naruto had a kid so Sasuke was wary about intruding. Especially since he wasn't sure whether or not Naruto was still with the kid's mother. But Sasuke hadn't missed that blush the other day. Maybe, if Naruto was single, he would have a chance. Question was, did he really want something with Naruto or did he just want his friend back? That was what had kept him away. And he still hadn't figured out.

"Where are you headed?"

"Um, not really sure what's around here but I wanted to get some breakfast in before I ran some errands," Naruto said and hoped he'd given a hint that he wanted Sasuke's company. He just wasn't too sure whether or not Sasuke wanted to hang out with him or not.

"If you're not pressed for time, there's a diner a couple blocks from here," Sasuke said with a shrug. "I was heading there now."

"Yeah, sounds good to me," Naruto said with a wide smile. He was cheering in his head. He had always enjoyed Sasuke's company and was glad that Sasuke might even enjoy his.

They agreed to head on over to the diner in Naruto's car since he had things to do afterward. When Sasuke asked Naruto why he had suddenly decided to move into the apartment complex they lived in, Naruto became a little fidgety. He mumbled something about kindergarten and germs and Sasuke, even though he didn't understand what Naruto was trying to say, didn't pry any further. Instead, Sasuke told Naruto that he had recently moved in close to a couple months back when he returned to Frondescence. Before Naruto could ask him why he had stayed away so long, they had arrived at the diner. The two sat and ordered making idle chit chat about the weather until the waitress brought them their drinks. Naruto had settled for a coke and Sasuke for a coffee.

"So what were you saying about kindergarten?" Sasuke asked as casually as possible. As soon as he saw Naruto fidget in his seat, Sasuke looked out the window so that Naruto wouldn't feel obligated to respond. Sasuke remembered Naruto saying he had a boy so maybe that's what he meant, his son was starting kindergarten.

"My boy, Asashi, starts school next week," Naruto said with a smile. ' _Thought so,'_ Sasuke thought, holding back a smirk.

"The ceramic mug. Your kid made that, right?" Sasuke said with a soft smile. He caught a glint of something when Naruto twisted his cup around. He looked at Naruto's left hand and noticed a wedding band for the first time since running into him. It was a thin silver band but was present nonetheless. ' _Shit,'_ Sasuke thought and could've kicked himself for not noticing that before.

"Yeah, he made it in preschool. You know, I don't remember them letting us make anything with clay unless it was non-toxic play-doh," Naruto said with a slight frown.

"Times are changing," Sasuke said and adjusted himself in his seat before he took a sip of his coffee. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable about being with Naruto. Because fucking Naruto was married. _Married!_ Was it hot inside the goddamn diner? Sasuke thought so. He stood up and took off his jacket. He folded it and tossed it into the booth before he sat down again.

Naruto cleared his throat, noticing Sasuke's discomfort but he didn't understand the reason behind it. So he decided to play it safe and talk about Asashi to ease the tension a bit. "But that's good, right? I mean, my boy will be smarter than I ever was," Naruto said and Sasuke reached for his hand.

Naruto watched Sasuke's hand reach for his own with mild curiosity and a shit load of nerves. Sasuke folded Naruto's fingers in carefully. He couldn't help running a finger over Naruto's wedding ring. Almost as if he wanted to make sure it was really there. Suddenly it was very quiet and he didn't dare look at Naruto's face. Then he turned Naruto's hand over and used the knuckles to knock on the table.

Naruto had stiffened when he felt Sasuke's hand on his and stopped breathing when he felt Sasuke brush his finger over his wedding ring. Then he blushed when he liked the feel of Sasuke's hand over his own until he realized what Sasuke was doing. Worse yet, what it meant.

"You bastard!"

"Hey, you don't want to jinx the kid into becoming a moron now do you?" Sasuke said with a smirk.

Naruto looked away angrily, a frown on his brow and a pout on his lips. Sasuke chuckled and Naruto turned around to smile at him. He was happy that Sasuke seemed to relax.

"So when do I meet your son?" Sasuke said as casually as possible. It was weird that Naruto had a son and was married. The thought that Naruto had knocked someone up so soon after they had parted ways… Sasuke couldn't even think about that. That was part of the past. Sasuke had done what he had to do and apparently, so had Naruto.

"Uh, this Saturday. That's when he should be moving in with me," Naruto said cheerfully. Then he thanked the waitress once she placed his cheeseburger and fries before him. A veggie omelet was placed in front of Sasuke and he simply nodded at the waitress before she walked off.

"Saturday, huh? Where is he now?" Sasuke said just to make conversation while he cut up his omelet. Naruto had already taken a bite of his burger so he chewed and swallowed before he answered.

"Oh, um, with his mom," Naruto said and he felt his cheeks heat up. Sasuke's eyes widened and he looked at Naruto a bit taken back.

"You're separated?" Sasuke said his lips tipped downward. He felt bad for asking but he was morbidly curious to know what happened. ' _When the fuck did I get so nosy?'_

"Uh, yeah," Naruto said and took a sip of his coke. His mouth suddenly felt dry. His eyes became glassy and he blinked trying to keep the tears at bay. ' _Ah, fuck. It wasn't his decision,'_ Sasuke thought and couldn't help feeling some of the pain Naruto was putting out there. "Asashi sees it as some sort of adventure he's going to have with me. But I don't want to be there the day he realizes that he had to move out so that mommy didn't get sick."

"Oh, fuck," Sasuke said feeling horrid for Naruto's son. That would be hard for anyone no matter what age they were. "That's what you were mumbling about earlier. Germ-infested kindergarten classrooms."

"Yeah." Naruto cleared his throat when his voice came out a bit shaky. "Hinata… she's pregnant and she really can't afford to get sick right now," Naruto said sadly and Sasuke's eyes widened. ' _So, he married Hinata then.'_

"Is it...a temporary separation?" Sasuke said before he was able to bite his tongue.

"No," Naruto said and looked at his cheeseburger not really seeing it. He rid himself from whatever feelings overtook him momentarily. He took a few fries into his mouth just to have something else to concentrate on. Sasuke followed suit and decided to fill his mouth with food before it decided to ask another question without his permission.

"How far along is she?" Sasuke asked hoping to redirect Naruto to a, hopefully, better topic. Talking about his kid seemed to light him up so he thought asking about the pregnancy would be safe.

"Uh, I think five months," Naruto said and scratched his chin. "Yeah, she's due in January but the doctors hope she will at least make it to seven months before they would even consider inducing the labor as a possibility."

Naruto rubbed his face for a moment and Sasuke gave him the time he needed. He resisted the urge to sit next to his friend to comfort him.

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this, you know. Hinata... she was in remission. It looked like she was going to make it and she said she wanted another baby. We talked about it with her father and both of us gave in to her pleas. You should have seen her Sasuke, she was so happy when she found out she was pregnant with her second child. Hiashi did everything in his power to make her comfortable. Asashi was excited too. Everything seemed picture perfect, until recently. So, the doctors said…" Naruto couldn't say another without becoming overly emotional. So, he took a deep breath and took another swig of his coke to collect himself. "If things get too bad and she can't hold out until at least week twenty-eight, then they'll have to do a C-section. That's six weeks from now. Their priority and hers is to save the baby. But Sasuke, what the fuck am I going to do with a newborn baby without a mother?"

"You won't have to go through this alone. Besides, she might get better…"

"No," Naruto said and shook his head. "She's past treatment. She'll be lucky if she even has a chance to greet the baby. She should be in a hospital but her dad wants her home. She wants to be home. It's Asashi who can't be there. I'm going to pick them up tomorrow so that she can go to the kindergarten orientation. If she does well, then we'll consider having her be present for Asashi's first day of school. Otherwise…"

"One day at a time, Naruto," Sasuke said his voice taking on a more serious tone.

"What?"

"You can't think about tomorrow or what if's. Take it one day at a time. Think about what you have to do today and tomorrow do the same. Only think about that day," Sasuke said as he held Naruto's gaze. "So today, what do you have to do?"

"I need to go shopping and finish unpacking," Naruto said with a shrug.

"Okay, if you're ready to go," Sasuke said and gestured that they leave.

"But we haven't paid," Naruto said a bit confused.

"I already took care of it," Sasuke said with a smile. Naruto had been so distraught while he spoke that he didn't notice the waitress coming up to their table to quietly hand over the check. But before she could go, Sasuke had pulled out his credit card and given it to her. Sasuke stood up and grabbed Naruto by the arm so that they could get a move on.

They made it to the grocery supercenter and once they finished in the school supply aisle, Naruto began to head towards the pet department area. Sasuke looked at him curiously as Naruto looked over his shopping list that was written in beautiful penmanship. Right away Sasuke realized that it was Hinata's writing. He looked at Naruto as he concentrated on the slip of paper and wished for a moment that he knew what the hell Naruto was thinking.

"Do you know anything about fish?" Naruto said suddenly.

"Yeah, I used to have one," Sasuke said and tried to peek at the list.

"Hinata wrote that Asashi wants fish and that I should get him one for his new room. I don't know how to take care of fish. He's going to go into his room and see a fish floating at the top of his tank because I had no idea what the hell I was doing!"

"Stop freaking out," Sasuke said and nudged him on the side to make sure he had his attention. "I can help you pick out the right tank or bowl, whatever you want. You can pick out the fish and we'll get a few accessories.."

"Accessories? Like what?"

"Coral, greenery, a pirate ship; whatever you think Asashi would like," Sasuke said and pointed a few things out once they arrived at the correct aisle. He turned in time to hear Naruto chuckle. Naruto was holding a bag of aquarium gravel.

"Aren't these the pebbles from the bottom of the fish tank?" Naruto said with a lopsided grin.

"Yeah, you should pick your son's favorite color," Sasuke said with a slight frown. He had no idea what Naruto was so amused about.

"Does the color make a difference when you wipe your ass with it?" Naruto said just barely able to finish the sentence before he busted out laughing.

"Moron." Sasuke couldn't help the smile that spread on his lips. So he quickly turned his face away to hide it. He wouldn't laugh. Not when it was at his expense.

"What about the size?" Naruto said with a grin.

That was when Sasuke laughed. But it was a nasal laugh. "Size... definitely matters." He said it in a mumble but Naruto heard him then fell over laughing. Sasuke made it a point to walk away.

"Come back, you bastard!" Naruto said and pulled himself up off the ground.

"Get your shit together," Sasuke said from the next aisle over. But he was smiling when he said it. Naruto knew he was and he couldn't be happier than he was that moment. Because he finally had his friend back. And that sent him into another fit of laughter.


	5. My Friend: Past

It had been a little over four months that Sasuke had been living in Frondescence and in that time Naruto and Sasuke had become inseparable. Naruto referred to Sasuke as his best friend but Sasuke's feelings had grown into something more than friendship. He kept his feelings to himself because he didn't want to lose sight of the reason he had moved to the small town, to begin with. He had been searching for his brother since the age of twelve but every time he was close, he would lose track him. It was extremely infuriating. He wanted to be near his brother but it seemed like his brother had other plans. Because no matter how Sasuke looked at it, he couldn't be so naive not to think that his brother was aware Sasuke was searching for him and was staying a step ahead. He couldn't think of a reason why, though. The only other possibility was that Sasuke simply arrived a little too late each and every time and that there was no possibility for them to actually cross paths. That sort of thought made him feel like he was giving up on finding his brother. But when he arrived at Frondescence it was simply by chance that he met the Naruto. Frondescence turned out to be a dead end and he was waiting for clearance on a traveling license. But by the time he received it, he didn't want to leave. It was the first time that Sasuke had felt like he was home since he had lost his family all those years ago. So his brother took second place to his new life in the small town where he was surrounded by friends that he could see as family.

Before he had even met Naruto, the group had already taken him in as if he had always been one of them. He had stuck mostly to Shikamaru in the beginning since the lazy boy hardly engaged with the group either. He'd yawn or mutter the same thing he always did. Choji was always too busy eating to care what was happening around him. Shino and Hinata were so quiet that it made Sasuke almost noisy in comparison. It was Kiba, Ino, and Sakura who were the most lively and talkative. But Sasuke's snide comments to Kiba, the way he'd snort when he heard something utterly ridiculous, his nasal laugh, his monosyllable interjections, his non-verbal communication through his expressions, posture, and eye contact, even the simple act of turning the page of the book he was reading, all made him a focal point in the group at one point or another. It made him feel like he was a part of them. He belonged.

Sasuke and his friends lived in the north quadrant of the western continent. Maps had been redrawn after the last World War. Those who survived the largest scale bloodshed of all mankind opted for a new world order to create peace between nations. But those who had attained positions of power became hungry for more. They wanted more land and chose to break treaties. Peace was short lived and ended decades later with a Great War that continued until four kings were established to rule over the largest continents. There were the Kings of the North and South in the western continent and the Kings of the East and West in the eastern continent that ruled over the nations that were now referred to as quadrants. Since the last Great War, people lived in relative peace. There were a few uprisings within the quadrants and minor conflicts between kings but another large scale war had not been waged.

In the mornings, those from age eight to eighteen attended an academic school and in the afternoons, military training in which Sasuke excelled. Once they graduated school, they would enlist to work directly for the King. Enlistment was not a choice but a responsibility. Once they were called to action, it was necessary for them to present themselves or lose all rights as a citizen. Those who shirked their responsibility were hunted and imprisoned without a trial. But those who answered the call of duty were then assigned to a specific quadrant to be part of a troop or were assigned to an elite operation unit that moved freely throughout the entire kingdom. It was the latter in which Sasuke's brother was assigned right after graduation and to that unit that Sasuke needed to be in so that he wouldn't have any difficulties finding his brother. So he trained harder than everyone around him.

Sasuke was completely aware that he had one complete school year to go before he could graduate. Thus had decided that he would continue to search for his brother when that time came. It would be easier for Sasuke since those who were enlisted could travel freely between quadrants without having to apply for a traveling license. He had been luckier when he was younger and had not been seen as a menace. But after he reached the age of fifteen, it became more difficult to obtain a traveling license. The fact that he was an orphan made him all the more suspicious. Having that in mind, it was easier for Sasuke to stay in Frondescence even though the real reason behind it was that he couldn't stomach the idea of separating himself from Naruto. To him, it would be like leaving family behind.

Since Sasuke was biding his time in the meantime, he'd get to school early on occasion so that he could scour the library and pick out a new book to read. It had become one of his pastimes and a great way to ignore the incessant chatter that his friends droned on about during their lunch hour. Instead of trying to contribute to their silly conversations that filled part of the emptiness he felt inside, Sasuke would read until something said caught his attention. At that point, he would either join the conversation or simply make a snide remark that he knew would rile Kiba up. They were a welcome distraction and even though he didn't want to admit it to himself, he enjoyed their company.

This day, in particular, Sasuke happened to be walking past the nonfiction section of the library when a few voices caught his attention. It wasn't like him to stop and listen to other people's conversation but he was making an exception solely because he heard Naruto's name amidst the whispering. Sakura and Hinata were talking - or you could say, Sakura was haranguing Hinata - about none other than Naruto. It was what had peaked his curiosity.

Sasuke slipped into an aisle that was two rows away from the girls so that they didn't see him while he listened in with his hands fisted at his side and an angry scowl on his face. He made a gap on the shelves so that their voices wouldn't be muffled even though Sakura's fierce whispering was loud enough to be heard from four rows away. It was Hinata's silent stuttering that he had trouble making out. But she was using her normal volume which was irritating enough as it was. Not only was she shy but she was also soft spoken. A combination that made it difficult to eavesdrop. Not that he wouldn't find out eventually what they were talking about since nothing ever stayed a secret within their group. But something told Sasuke that he should stay and if necessary, frustrate whatever scheme they were planning.

"The prom is two months away. If you wait any longer to confess your feelings, we'll have graduated and you'll never see him again!" Sakura said upset. From the shuffling noises Sasuke could hear, he could only imagine that Sakura was shaking Hinata by the shoulders to rattle some sense into her.

"But...n-not easy…-time I...Na-Naruto...leaves…Sasuke," Hinata said sounding flustered and Sasuke felt the same way. He could only catch a few of her words. However, it didn't take him long for him to figure out what Hinata was talking about.

Every time Hinata approached Naruto, they - Naruto and Sasuke - were together and she would only get a word or two in before Naruto cut her off then excused himself dragging Sasuke away with him. Sasuke always asked Naruto why he didn't talk to her but Naruto would come up with one excuse or another. But Sasuke knew that Naruto was nervous about Hinata confessing her feelings for him. Was it because Naruto felt the same for Hinata and he simply didn't want to admit it to Sasuke? Or was it that he didn't want to get her hopes up? Whatever the case, it seemed Naruto had been stopping her from confessing. Sasuke didn't know how to feel about that. What if Naruto really did return her feelings, where would that leave him?

" _I_ know!" Sakura said with so much excitement that even Sasuke wanted to know what her big idea was to make Hinata's confession easier. "Write him a note! Everything you want to say to him in person but couldn't. He can't interrupt your words if he's reading them. It's perfect!"

"Y-yeah!" Hinata said and Sasuke could hear the grin behind the only word he had ever heard Hinata pronounce above her normal whisper volume.

Sasuke was angry now and he was going to take it out on the person who had made him feel this way. He waited for the girls to wrap up their conversation and for Hinata to leave before he rounded the corner and slipped into the aisle Sakura was standing in. She was smiling happily to herself and Sasuke had a disturbing image of Sakura patting herself on the back.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sasuke said angrily but keeping his voice low enough that Sakura didn't catch the rage emanating from it.

"Sasuke!" Sakura said happily and she stopped herself from rushing at him at the last moment, which relieved Sasuke to no end.

Sakura seemed to want everyone to know how she felt for him and he ignored her dutifully. Sasuke didn't care for her in any other way other than as a friend. Even he was surprised that the girl had wedged herself into his life as a friend. Although it was clear she wanted to marry him and have forty babies. The thought made him cringe but he did enjoy her company in a way. She had learned to control her flirting and longing stares and opted for casual chit chat whenever they were with everyone else.

While Naruto spent his time goofing off with the others, Sakura made it a point to keep Sasuke company. Even still, Sakura would only receive a grunt or nod whenever she spoke to him. Sasuke couldn't help that he was most at ease around Naruto and it was only when the two were alone that he could let his guard down completely. Sasuke didn't really have conversations with the others unless they were on a topic that truly interested him. But whenever he did give his opinion on something, everyone would listen.

"Why were you pushing Hinata to speak to Naruto?" Sasuke said so seriously that Sakura's smile disappeared in a heartbeat.

"She asked for my advice…"

"It didn't sound like you were giving her advice. From where I was standing it seemed you like you were bullying her into confessing her feelings to an unresponsive Naruto," Sasuke said trying to remain calm.

"No, I just had to give her a bit of a push. You know how shy she is and Naruto is an idiot for not noticing how she feels about him."

"What makes you think he doesn't know?"

"Because he hasn't confessed to her!" Sakura said now become frustrated. "He's such an idiot and even more shy than Hinata about his feelings."

"What? Sakura, you are a bigger moron than he is!" Sasuke said not being able to rein in his emotions any longer.

"Sasuke, but…"

"Naruto knows that Hinata has a crush on him…"

"A crush? Oh, no! I can't believe you didn't know. Of course, you don't. You don't talk to her. She's in love with him!" Sakura said and jumped up and down clapping her hands. "Isn't that awesome?"

"No. That makes it that much worse for her to confess to him. You should've left things how they were."

"What are you talking about? Naruto has been in love with Hinata since before he left," Sakura said looking at Sasuke confusedly.

"Maybe he did like her before but he doesn't anymore," Sasuke said, anger gone and backing down with a sigh.

"Why do you say that?"

"He told me that he didn't like her," Sasuke said and gave her a stern look.

Sakura couldn't do anything else but openly gape at him in shock.

"There's a reason why he hasn't been giving her the time of day. You shouldn't have meddled. Because of you, Hinata will be heartbroken and she doesn't seem like the type who can take it," Sasuke said and decided to leave the conversation at that. He began to walk away in the opposite direction he had come when Sakura grabbed his arm. He turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow.

"It's nice to know you care enough about your friends to be angry that they could potentially get hurt," Sakura said with a soft smile. "I didn't know you considered us your friends."

Sasuke didn't respond, he simply snorted.

"You don't have to be embarrassed about it," Sakura said and at seeing his angry scowl and slight blush for being caught before he turned away. She giggled at his reaction. "But you're wrong. He might have told you that he didn't like her but the way he looks at her when he thinks no one is watching, well I think that speaks louder than the words he spoke out defensively out of embarrassment."

"Whatever," Sasuke said upset with himself more than anyone now. Because what if what she was saying was true? He shook his arm out of Sakura's grip.

"You know, I have something to confess to you too," Sakura said averting her gaze with a prominent blush on her cheeks.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked away. He knew what was coming and he didn't want to hear it. "I already know. So just leave it alone, Sakura."

"You already know what?" she said suddenly coy and looking at him expectantly.

"I consider you a friend, Sakura. Only a friend," Sasuke said and began to walk away.

"Sasuke, wait!"

"Sakura, don't…"

"I love you, Sasuke!"

"Fuck," Sasuke muttered. He kept his back to her and tightened his fists. He didn't want to have to do this but she wasn't giving him a choice.

"And I know you see me as a friend, but in time you might be able to feel more if you only gave me a chance. You'll see, Sasuke, I can make you so happy…"

"Happy?" Sasuke said coldly. "You can't replace them. You could never make me happy."

"Please, Sasuke, just give me chance. I love you more than you could ever imagine," Sakura said desperately and tears began to run down her face because of his dismissal.

Sasuke began to laugh cynically. Sakura wiped the tears from her eyes and stared at him in disbelief.

"You don't know anything about me," Sasuke said finally facing her and looking at her coldly. "You say you love me but you only love the shell."

Sakura was shaking her head aggressively and was about to contest his words. But Sasuke placed two fingers on her lips to keep her from talking. Tears ran down her face freely as she looked at him. Something inside Sasuke reminded him that Sakura was a part of his family. A part of what made him feel like Frondescence was home. And even though he had meant what he said, he shouldn't have been so cruel simply to discourage her. He wiped away her tears carefully and kissed her forehead sweetly.

"I consider you a friend but that's all I can offer you. And if you value our friendship as much as I do, you'll seek love elsewhere."

With those parting words, Sasuke walked out of the aisle they were in leaving a sniffling Sakura behind. As soon as he passed a few aisles, he ran into Hinata who was glaring daggers at him. He knew right away just by looking at her that Hinata had never left. He couldn't suppress the snort that escaped him. He was glad Hinata had heard his conversation with Sakura. Perhaps it would knock some sense into her and pop her fantasy bubble once and for all. He made to walk around her but she quickly moved to stand in front of him.

"Anyone would be lucky to have Sakura love them as much as she loves you," Hinata said through gritted teeth. Sasuke couldn't hide his surprise. For the first time since he had met the busty brunette, this was the first time he heard her speak without stuttering. "I don't know what she see's in you…"

"You and me both. Make sure you tell her that. She's stuck in some romantic fantasy of an alternate me. I'm glad that you can see this cold heart of mine. It saves me the trouble of having you fall for me too," Sasuke said with a smirk. "You seem to be the only girl in this town that hasn't fallen victim to…" Sasuke waved his hand in front of his face and body.

"No, you don't have a cold heart. You're wrong," Hinata said sincerely, feeling sorry for the boy she had before her. "You're clearly in a lot of pain."

Sasuke was taken by surprise again. How the hell did this girl who had never spoken more than a few words to him possibly know?

"Naruto wouldn't be your friend if he thought you were cold. He can see the real you. I'm glad you two are close friends. Your friendship has made him happy. I have never seen him as happy as he is when he's with you," Hinata said with a soft smile. Sasuke scowled at her not knowing where she was going with her words. "I hope you can reconsider Sakura's confession. She was sincere."

"As sincere as _your_ love for Naruto?" Sasuke said with a slight frown. His words threw her off and she blushed.

"Po-possibly even more. I don't think my love for Naruto is as deep as what she feels for you. Considering…"

"Considering what?"

"Nothing. Just think about what she said. Her feelings aren't superficial," Hinata said and walked away leaving a stunned Sasuke behind. Hinata stopped after a few steps and looked over her shoulder. "Sakura sees the real you too, my friend."


	6. My Friend: Present

Sasuke sat on his couch with his head resting on the backrest as he stared at the ceiling. There was an open letter held in the grip of his left hand that was resting on his thigh. He hadn't read it and truthfully he didn't care to either. So much had changed since he left Frondescence all those years back. But at the same time, nothing had. His emotions were still just as strong as they had ever been and the overwhelming feeling that Frondescence was home was also present.

Why now?

He was on a self-imposed leave from active duty and had acquired a respectable position at the base. He was supposed to be on leave until the end of the year or longer if he so pleased. He had already served longer than was necessary and had only stayed on to help his brother. This, however, was a considered as a special assignment. That's what the letter stated but Sasuke had stopped trusting the military before he killed Danzo, the King of the North. Who's to say that the letter wasn't some ploy of theirs to snatch him back into full-time service? From the moment he had seen Naruto again, he didn't want anything else but to stay where he was. It didn't matter to him that Naruto's hands were tied.

 _Knock. Knock. Knock._

Sasuke folded the letter and placed it in his back pocket. He'd read its entire content later; there was no urgency on his part. He opened the door to see no one until he heard the little shout from Asashi who only came up to his knees.

"Sasuke! Sasuke!" Asashi said and hugged one of Sasuke's legs.

Sasuke ruffled the boy's blond hair and peered out the door to see if Naruto was around. Asashi was still wearing his backpack.

"Good afternoon," Sasuke said as he lifted the boy in his arms and closed the door.

"It's a great afternoon!" Asashi said with a grin. His light gray eyes were bright and happy.

"So you had a good day at school?"

"It was awesome!"

Sasuke couldn't help but chuckle. He placed Asashi on the couch then went to the kitchen to get the boy something to drink. He picked up his cell phone off the counter to discreetly notify Naruto that Asashi was at his place.

"Where's dad?" Sasuke asked from the kitchen.

"He had to hurry to make sure he hadn't burnt the cookies he was baking," Asashi said and didn't sound too pleased.

"He left cookies baking in the oven before he picked you up?" Sasuke said and handed the boy a juice box.

Asashi busied himself with the straw; he wasn't satisfied until it was in the box and he had his first sip.

"Yeah," he said exaggeratedly. "Everyone knows you're not supposed to bake anything if you're going to leave the house."

"Everyone does, huh?" Sasuke said as he smiled down at the smart little boy.

"Almost everybody," Asashi said and shook his head. He slapped his forehead with his hand and sighed. "What am I going to do with daddy? He's going to burn the apartment down one of these days!"

Sasuke couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, maybe you'll get lucky and he saved the cookies today."

"No, he burned them," Asashi said matter of factly. "That's why I came here. The apartment probably stinks to high heaven."

Asashi plugged up his nose when he said that. Then he drank his juice merrily again as he kicked his feet trying to get them to fold over the edge like Sasuke's did.

"I take it you want to have dinner here then?" Sasuke said already getting up off the couch.

Asashi nodded his head vigorously. "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!"

"I'll start dinner but you have to get started on your homework," Sasuke said sternly before he made his way back to the kitchen area. He placed his cell phone on his desk after seeing a reply from Naruto. The apartment was open so he would be able to keep an eye on Asashi as he worked.

"Okay," Asashi agreed readily as he dug into his backpack searching for the worksheet he took home every day that had his homework for the week. "I have to read for fifteen minutes."

"I'll set a timer. Just let me know when you have your book and are ready to read," Sasuke told him as he looked at the boy who was still digging into his backpack with a shake of his head. He could hear the rustling of papers but Asashi refused to clean out his backpack. He thought every paper in there was important. That was until he had a chance to show them to his mom who would keep them safe for him. "Don't forget to read out loud. I need to hear you just in case you make a mistake."

"Yessir!"

Sasuke chuckled and began to chop vegetables. Asashi was a very bright boy and he reminded Sasuke of himself when he was his age. It had been almost automatic for Sasuke to treat Asashi the way Itachi would treat him. Itachi helped him with his homework, listened to him intently, and made sure young Sasuke was happy. That was until Itachi was enrolled into a special military training.

Itachi became guarded once he began to train and was too busy to be around Sasuke, always saying he had something to do. When their parents were killed, Itachi had been taken by the military against his will. The last thing Sasuke ever heard Itachi say was, "I'll find you. Don't worry." But that didn't make any sense to Sasuke. He was not the one leaving. He wasn't the one who was taken away. After Sasuke saw the cold look on the general who stayed behind to eye Sasuke with cold eyes before he too disappeared with the others, Sasuke had decided he was the one who had to find his brother. He just hadn't imagined how hard it would be. But he didn't regret anything.

The sound of the timer going off brought Sasuke back to the present. He turned it off and heard Asashi cheer.

"You didn't have to correct me today! I'm getting better at reading," Asashi was saying as he jumped up and down.

Sasuke inwardly cringed. He had ignored him and he didn't have the guts to tell the boy that he wasn't paying attention. But when he saw the book Asashi was reading, he realized that Asashi may not have made any mistakes. The last time the boy had read that particular book he had only messed up on one word. Sasuke wiped his hands on a cloth and walked up to Asashi and took the book out of his hands. He opened the book to the correct page and pointed out the word.

"So you know how to read this word correctly then?" Sasuke asked with a soft smile.

Asashi grinned.

"I learned," Asashi said as he pointed to himself. "I practiced and practiced. Every! Every! Every!"

Sasuke's eyes widened as Asashi pointed at the word and read it over and over. He lifted the boy up so that they were at eye level.

"So what should you get as a prize for reading the entire book without making a mistake?"

"I get to sleep over!"

Sasuke chuckled and shook his head. "Well, you'll have to ask dad if that's okay."

"I will!" Asashi said and wiggled out of Sasuke's arms just to run around the apartment until he found Sasuke's cell phone. "Can I call daddy?"

Sasuke simply nodded and Asashi quickly dialed, knowing to push the star at the bottom of the call screen and then his daddy's name.

Sasuke busied himself with cooking while Asashi spoke to Naruto excitedly. Before Sasuke realized it, Asashi was tugging on his shirt.

"Daddy wants to talk to you," Asashi said with a smile and he rushed back to the table to finish his homework.

"Naruto," Sasuke said simply as he stirred the food. "Are you coming over for dinner? It's almost ready."

" _Ah, yeah. Asashi told me but the thing is…"_

"You have plans," Sasuke said quietly and heard Naruto sigh. "Does Asashi know?"

" _No, uh. He said he wanted to stay the night,"_ Naruto told him and the unasked question was caught by Sasuke.

"Yeah, I don't have to go into work tomorrow until late. If you're okay with him staying over…"

" _Yeah, actually, that would be great!"_

"Naruto, is everything alright?"

" _Hinata...she…"_

Sasuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Naruto always gave him a glimpse of his emotions before he shut them out completely. Sasuke knew it was best not to say anything. He heard Naruto swallow a couple of times and then clear his throat.

" _I'll be at the hospital. They finally had to admit her. I don't know when I'll know anything about…"_

"You don't have to tell me," Sasuke told him and took in a deep breath to reign in his own emotions. He wished that Naruto could have the family he wanted without the pain that came with it but there wasn't anything either of them could do about Naruto's situation.

" _I just… I was supposed to leave twenty minutes ago… She's probably wondering where I am. I don't have an excuse. I'm just so scared, Sasuke. I don't want to lose my baby."_

Then Naruto started to sob. Sasuke closed his eyes again. He didn't know what to say. And he couldn't say much with Asashi only a couple feet away. But he felt his eyes burn and he swallowed convulsively to reign in his own emotions.

"Asashi will be perfectly fine until you get back," Sasuke said after a minute or two when he heard Naruto calm down.

Sasuke looked over his shoulder to the boy who was completely engrossed in writing his vocabulary words.

" _Thanks, Sasuke! I really appreciate it. I'm so happy he was at your place when I got the call. So, I'll see you later or tomorrow or something."_

"Yeah," Sasuke said simply the added: "Hey, um, I just have a question."

" _Um, sure, okay. What is it?"_

"What happened to the cookies?"

Naruto burst out laughing through his tears. " _Were they really supposed to be cookies? They look like charcoal lumps."_

Sasuke chuckled and shook his head.

" _Thanks, Sasuke. I needed that. Okay, so I better hang up now."_

"Right."

" _Bye."_

"Hn."

* * *

Sasuke walked into the hospital the following day. He had received a call from a young woman claiming to be Hinata's sister asking him to stop by the hospital and force Naruto to leave. Sasuke didn't think it was his place to do so. The man had all the right in the world to stay beside his wife and unborn child if he so pleased. But Hanabi said she wasn't asking him to force Naruto to leave for his own benefit but for Asashi. She became a little irate when it seemed that Sasuke wasn't going to comply but resigned in the end.

Sasuke really didn't want to be doing this especially since he felt forced into it. Not to mention, he had to be at work soon. And he still hadn't read the letter he received. Putting it off for more than a day, wasn't a good idea. There was a decision that he had to make and make it soon.

"Sasuke, it's...good to...see you...again," Hinata said in her soft-spoken voice. It took her longer than usual to speak.

Sasuke inwardly cringed at the way she looked. He had assumed he would see the same women he'd met when he was younger. But this person before him was so fragile. She had so many things _—_ tubes, cables _—_ hooked up to her that she could be a prototype of an alien race. Her protruding belly seemed to be all he could focus his eyes on because not only was she pale with sunken eyes but even her hair was lackluster.

"...Naruto told...me you...live in...the same... building," Hinata had continued without expecting Sasuke to engage in conversation with her.

 _'Oh, God. Is she still talking?'_ Sasuke thought as he looked up at her light gray eyes.

He held up a hand to stop her from talking.

"Don't force conversation on my account. You probably need your rest."

She gave him a look of sympathy. Was she feeling sympathetic towards him?

"I came here for Naruto. Your sister, Hana-something told me to..." Sasuke felt utterly ridiculous saying all that.

They both turned to look at Naruto who was lightly snoring as he slept on the guest sofa. Half his body was hanging off it since it wasn't meant for an overgrown man to attempt laying on it.

"I guess I should wake him. Then I'll be on my way."

"I'm glad...you're back...Naruto seems...happier since you've...been around." Sasuke could hear her take a deep breath. She cleared her throat and smiled at him.

Sasuke looked away uneasily.

"Asashi seems...taken by you."

"He's a good kid." Sasuke stopped beside Naruto but couldn't get himself to wake his friend up. "Smart." He snorted and Hinata seemed to giggle. "Happy." He turned to look at her face then back at her belly. "Excited to be a brother."

"Yes," Hinata said softly. "I'm happy...Asashi will..."

"He'll be a good older brother," Sasuke said and looked away. He looked at Naruto then back at Hinata.

"He will."

They stared at each other for a moment. Sasuke wishing he could say something to her about her condition. To wish her good health or something generic like that but there was no point, death was on her heels. But she was strong regardless of the way she looked. She would hang on until that baby was born on sheer will alone.

"He loves you...you know."

"What?" Sasuke said with widened eyes.

"Stay. Help...him raise...his children." Hinata took another labored breath. "Adopt them...you'll make...a wonder-ful father...alongside Naruto."

"What are you talking about?"

"I know... I've always...known about you... When you...left, Naruto...missed you... He loves...you too. Make...them happy, my friend."

Hinata was smiling and she took another labored breath. Her eyes began to close, slow long blinks until she simply kept them closed.

Sasuke was standing there in shock. Did she know that he was asked to go back? She couldn't have known. But what she said, was it true? Naruto? Sasuke shook his head. It didn't matter. They were married and Sasuke didn't plan to interfere.

"Naruto," Sasuke shook him awake.

"What... Sasuke?"

"Hinata's sister told me to come get you. I have to go to work and Asashi gets out of school in a couple of hours."

"Oh, okay. Thanks, Sasuke," Naruto said and his back popped when he stood up and stretched. "That thing is not comfortable. She's _—_ "

"She fell asleep right before I woke you."

"Oh," Naruto didn't seem happy about that. And Sasuke had to look away from the pained look that crossed Naruto's features.

Sasuke made his way to the door slowly.

"I'll wait for you outside unless you have your own car."

"No, I...Hanabi picked me up. I guess she had to leave then?"

Sasuke shrugged but didn't turn around. He made his way out to give Naruto some privacy with his wife.

A few minutes later, a red-eyed Naruto met up with him in the waiting room. Naruto clapped a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and squeezed it.

"Thanks, for coming to get me."

"Yeah, no problem."

"Let's go. I don't want to make you late."

"I still have some time. It's fine."

"Okay."

They made their way to the elevator quietly. Sasuke didn't know what to say and Naruto was too downhearted to speak. They drove to the apartment without saying a word. When they arrived, Sasuke had pulled up close to the curb instead of driving into the parking lot.

"Naruto," Sasuke said softly and Naruto started. "We're here."

"Oh, I better get down."

"Will you be okay? Do you want me to tell Hinata's sister to get Asashi from school?"

"Huh?" Naruto looked at him a bit confused. "You have Hanabi's number? How? Why?"

"She called me." Sasuke frowned.

What the hell was the idiot implying?

"Heh, she works fast," Naruto said with a smirk.

"Moron, I have no idea what you mean. But she called me so that I could pick your ass up from the hospital. I don't know her. And no, before you ask, I don't want to get to know her either. Now, get your ass off my car and do your boy a favor, don't burn any more cookies at your place."

"Bastard," Naruto said with a wide smile. "I'll just make them in yours then. I have to keep practicing. My baby girl will have the best homemade cookies, ever. You know!"

"Don't worry. She will," Sasuke said with a smirk.

Naruto looked at him surprised.

"I'll make them for her so that you won't kill her with your charcoal bites."

Sasuke quickly reached over Naruto, opened the passenger door, and shoved Naruto out.

Naruto squawked when he landed on the ground and jumped up. He pointed an accusatory finger at Sasuke. "You bastard!"

"See you later, loser," Sasuke said with a chuckle as he drove off.

The car door closed on its own when he swerved the car back onto the main road. When Sasuke looked back in the rearview mirror, he saw Naruto looking in the direction he was driving with a wide smile.


	7. Did we just: Past

"Turn that off. They haven't said anything new in the past hour," Shikamaru said with a serious look in his eyes.

"Who would've thought that we were graduating early just so that they could send us straight into a war," Ino said clasping her hands together to stop them from shaking.

"But we're ready for this! They've been training us since we could add two plus two," Kiba said with determination.

"What's two plus two, Kiba?" Sasuke said quickly with such a deadpan voice that Kiba simply stared at him.

Kiba cleared his throat and finally answered with an, "Um."

Everyone started to laugh and then sighed nervously.

"There hasn't been a Great War in sixteen years so, therefore, it doesn't matter how much training we've had, there is no way we'd be prepared for something like this," Shino said with his eerie deep voice.

"The last Great War ended the day I was born," Naruto said his voice low and everyone turned to look at him. "There is so much hate in this world and it was that hate that took my parents from me."

"Naruto," Hinata said quietly, a hand on her mouth and the other clenched on her heart.

"I will fight and do what I can to help end the war early," Naruto said finding volume with newfound determination. "If the war goes on too long, it will only breed more hate."

"It can't be helped," Shikamaru said solemnly. "It's a vicious cycle but perhaps we can talk some sense into _—_ "

"What do you think you can say that will make them understand, Shikamaru? Huh? Do you have any idea what it's like to grow up without a family, without parents?" Sasuke said and his voice louder than normal.

Sasuke was angry at them, all of them. None of them knew what it was like to be alone. He and Naruto were the only ones who could possibly understand. And even then, Naruto had no clue what it was like to have your family ripped away. Sasuke was alone in his feelings.

"I might not have lost my parents in the Great War, but I did lose them in the New York Uprising nine years ago."

Everyone flinched at his words. The had all known that Naruto was an orphan had surmised as much of Sasuke since he lived alone, but they hadn't known how he had become one.

"So if I hear someone like you trying to say something about not wanting to lose any loved ones when you've been surrounded by them your entire life, I will close my ears from your words and exact my revenge on you instead!"

" _Revenge?_ What are you talking about, Sasuke? The Great War is a political fight not an act of revenge," Sakura said confused.

"The declaration of war may have come from the leaders of all four kingdoms. But they will not be the ones fighting. Those who will be fighting will not give a shit about the King of the North or the South for that matter, all they will see is soldiers wearing the same insignias as the ones who took their family from them. They will act on revenge to give their loved ones the justice they deserve. But you wouldn't know about that, right, Sakura? You have your mom and dad in your little house having lived a peaceful life; all sixteen years of it," Sasuke said with disdain and looked at each and every one of them with a glare before he looked at Naruto.

The two boys stared at one another for a moment and Naruto reached out to grab hold of Sasuke's arm to give him a reassuring squeeze. But Sasuke saw the intentions written on Naruto's face. He saw the way Naruto's eyes softened and his lips downturned slightly.

Sasuke scoffed and stepped away from Naruto. He walked away from them all. Leaving Shikamaru's basement to head home. He was angry and there wasn't anything that could console him. Especially not his friend Naruto who took Hinata's confession and ran with it. The two had been a couple for a month now and it truly irked Sasuke. He didn't know what he was doing in Frondescence anymore. With the Great War imminent, he couldn't postpone his search any longer. He needed to find his brother. If he had to fight, Sasuke wanted to fight alongside his brother Itachi.

Sasuke walked home with hurried steps. His mind clouded in anger. As if there hadn't been enough wars to last more than one generation. His fisted hands tightened as he walked up the steps, having reached his apartment quickly. He wasn't really sure what about the whole evening had bothered him more. The fact that his friends had never had to suffer the consequences of war or that Naruto was dating Hinata when he didn't have romantic feelings for her. Sasuke ground his teeth upset with himself for thinking about Naruto on top of most the important issue; that of finding his brother.

"Sasuke!" Naruto called out from the bottom of the stairs while Sasuke was fitting his keys in the lock.

"What do you want?" Sasuke said as he looked at Naruto over his shoulder. He didn't wait for Naruto to answer, he simply walked into his apartment and left the door open for Naruto to enter as well.

"I wanted to see if you were okay," Naruto said softly not wanting to rile Sasuke up more than he already was.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know, maybe because things were a bit heated before you left," Naruto said carefully not wanting to say that Sasuke threw a fit and stormed off.

Naruto understood to a certain extent where Sasuke was coming from. It was true that their friends took the relative peace they had lived in and the fact that they had a family to come home to every night for granted. If it wasn't for school none of them would be up to date with the current events. And outside of Sasuke and Naruto, none of them had gone further than ten miles out of the outskirts of Frondescence. They had no idea how the rest of the quadrant lived or the struggles they were faced with on a daily basis. There were a lot more orphans their age than any of them could even imagine.

"Well, they're all idiots," Sasuke said and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You mean, they're ignorant. They don't know what they haven't seen and they can't comprehend what they haven't experienced," Naruto said wanting Sasuke to cut their friends some slack.

"Whatever," Sasuke said with a shrug and turned around to drop into the nearest seat.

"You're right. It doesn't matter what we say, they will never be able to understand unless they see it themselves," Naruto said and looked down feeling a bit dejected. He really didn't want this war to happen. He didn't know if his friends were strong enough to live through the aftermath.

"Before any of this begins, I want to meet up with my godfather," Naruto said and looked at Sasuke and reached out for his shoulder. "Go with me."

"No."

"Why?" Naruto said with a slight frown.

"Why do you want me to go with you, Naruto? Why don't you ask your girlfriend?" Sasuke said and Naruto looked at him with wide eyes, taken aback. "Why are you with her, Naruto? You said you didn't even like her."

"I…" Naruto said and looked down. He felt guilty and didn't know why. "It took a lot of courage for her to confess to me."

"Courage is easy to find when you write a letter, Naruto," Sasuke said and glared at him. "Real courage is looking at the person you have feelings for right in the eyes and expressing yourself in your own words. She's not brave, Naruto."

"How did you know that she confessed to me in a letter?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Because I heard Sakura practically forcing her to confess to you. Hinata stuttered incoherently saying she couldn't even talk to you. It was Sakura's idea that she confess in a letter so that she wouldn't have to look at you," Sasuke said holding back his rage as he tightened his fists over his thighs. "It was fake courage, Naruto."

"I don't know what to say," Naruto said and sighed looking away with a slight pout.

"Do you even like her?"

"I admire her… Well, I admired her courage. And I truly care for her as a friend," Naruto said guiltily and couldn't look at Sasuke in the eyes.

"You're an idiot," Sasuke said and stood up. He had taken note that Naruto had evaded the question and hadn't given him a direct response.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to pack."

"So, you're going with me?" Naruto said eagerly.

"No," Sasuke said and looked at Naruto, not wanting to break eye contact. "I'm leaving Frondescence to search for my brother."

"You have a brother?"

"Yes," Sasuke said and placed his hands in his pockets. "I only came here in search of him but it was a dead end. I would've left sooner but I was distracted."

"By what?"

"You, you fucking moron!" Sasuke said upset. "Because you are not just a friend to me, Naruto. I actually have feelings for you. So I stayed for you but I shouldn't have."

"Sasuke…" Naruto said feeling a bit out of breath.

Sasuke didn't look away from him. He could feel a blush creep up on his cheeks but he ignored it. He couldn't care less if Naruto knew how he felt about him.

The temperature in the room seemed to rise for Naruto. He pulled on his shirt collar to get a bit more air. He could feel his hands begin to sweat and a warm tingly sensation gather in his lower belly. Before Naruto knew what he was doing, he had closed the distance between them. Naruto gripped Sasuke's shoulder and pulled him in close to rest his forehead on the other.

Sasuke closed his eyes and sighed. He knew what he wanted but he wasn't sure what it was that Naruto wanted. Did it even matter anymore? Sasuke didn't think so. With war imminent, his chance of finding his brother would be even more difficult. Because no matter what happened, with the chaos and the aftermath of a war it would be next to impossible to find another lead. He needed to leave, the sooner the better or he'd be forced to stay.

Sasuke opened his eyes to find Naruto's looking at him intensely. They both moved their heads for a better angle and then their lips joined together. Sasuke closed his eyes and moved his lips against Naruto's slowly.

Naruto cupped the back of Sasuke's neck and pulled him closer, licking Sasuke's lips until Sasuke opened his mouth. Naruto then pressed himself harder onto Sasuke's body. Their lips moving with more fervor, tongues clashing and breaths mingling.

Naruto took in a deep breath through his nose and moaned when he released it. The sound sending a tremor through Sasuke's body. He inched closer, gripping Naruto's waist and pulling him even closer. They backed up against the nearest wall. Sasuke was caught between the cold surface of the wall and his friend's warm body. He rocked his hips and felt a rush of excitement fill him. He groaned and pulled his face away to catch his breath but Naruto simply took that as an invitation to ravage Sasuke's neck and rock his hips harder onto Sasuke's.

"Oh, fuck," Sasuke said when he felt their hard members rubbing against each other.

It was starting to hurt through the rough material of their jeans so Sasuke began the process of ridding the rough material between them by unbuttoning their flies and pulling down zippers. He only managed to pull his own jeans and Naruto's down enough to feel each other through their briefs. It didn't matter so long as their jeans weren't in the way.

They both shuddered at the onslaught of excitement that coursed through their bodies. Their members hardened, their breathing quickened, and the room seemed to grow even hotter by the second.

Naruto began to move erratically and Sasuke followed his lead. Their breathing came in pants mixed with groans. Sasuke nipped Naruto's shoulder while his hands gripped Naruto's hips. He pulled Naruto's body even closer and moved faster feeling his balls tightened. A whiff of each other's musk reached their senses and this drove Sasuke further. He nipped on Naruto's earlobe and Naruto let out a moan, his voice resounding in Sasuke's ear making him tense. Naruto moved his hands up from Sasuke's back to his hair bringing their faces closer and pressing his lips on Sasuke's. They began to kiss sloppily and desperately.

Naruto rocked his hips faster and Sasuke's body began to spasm. He let out a groan that made Naruto catch his breath. Naruto's lips moved to Sasuke's neck while he quickened his movements, even more, wanting to find his own release. Sasuke was trying to catch his breath but held on to Naruto since his knees felt like they would give under the weight. Naruto finally came with a gruff groan while grabbing on to Sasuke, allowing his head rest on the other's shoulder.

They stayed there for a moment before they both slid down to the floor. Their erratic breaths calming until they were breathing slower. Naruto's head was still resting on Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke was leaning back against the wall and holding on to Naruto's hip with one hand and the other threading through Naruto's blond locks affectionately.

Naruto finally lifted his head to look at Sasuke, his gaze piercing with an unreadable expression.

Sasuke's brow furrowed thinking Naruto was about to say something that would make him regret expressing his feelings.

Naruto shook his head as if trying to understand what had just transpired.

"Did we… Did we just dry hump?" Naruto said, his expression so innocent that Sasuke couldn't help but laugh.

Sasuke laughed so hard and free that Naruto smiled and held his friends face tenderly wanting to hold on to that moment.

Sasuke looked at him and shook his head swallowing his laughter. "What gave it away, the stickiness in your crotch?"

"Maybe," Naruto said softly. He lifted Sasuke's chin and leaned in to place a chaste kiss on Sasuke's lips before he too began to chuckle. "That was…"

"Shut up," Sasuke said and playfully pushed Naruto away.

Naruto felt so weightless that he couldn't hold his own weight and fell back with a loud thud.

"Ow," Naruto complained in a drawn out groan.

Then they both succumbed to laughter once more.

After they both quieted down, Sasuke began to get up. "Come on, loser. Let's clean up."

"Sasuke," Naruto said softly as he sat up and took Sasuke's hand to stand up. "Come with me."

"I can't," Sasuke told him and sighed. "I have to find my brother."

Naruto sighed and nodded. "I understand."

They kissed each other softly but the stickiness in their briefs only reminded them that they needed to clean themselves up.

"When are you leaving?" Naruto asked when he was making his way to the front door.

"Tomorrow morning," Sasuke said and they looked at each other for a moment. Each lost in their own thoughts, knowing they had their own paths to follow.

"Don't die, bastard," Naruto said with a sad smile.

"Hn," Sasuke smirked. "I'll be the one saving your ass."

"See you out there then, bastard!"

"Loser," Sasuke said with an amused smile. He leaned in for a kiss before he shoved Naruto out the door and closed it.

"Bastard!" Naruto shouted from the other side of the door and Sasuke chuckled.

Sasuke heard Naruto's muffled laughter slowly dying out as Naruto made his way down the stairs and away from his apartment.


	8. Did we just: Present

"Sasuke," Naruto said with a smile when he opened the door. He had texted Sasuke earlier so that he could come over after his shift at work. "Come in."

Sasuke didn't say anything, he simply followed Naruto in. The house was a little quieter than normal. "Where's Asashi?"

"Oh, um, Neji came to get him a little while ago. I'm just packing a few things and then I'm leaving as well," Naruto said and Sasuke's eyes widened. He knew the apartments they were living in had monthly leases aside from yearly contracts. It was what he had signed up for since he wasn't sure if he would be staying in Frondescence for the long run. But Naruto...why was he leaving? "You're moving?"

"No!" Naruto said quickly and shook his head. "I had a little talk with Asashi about Hinata and the baby… I think I fucked up. He was really mad at me and rushed up to your place. I had to carry him back. You should've seen him, Sasuke. He was pitching a right fit. I told him you were still at work but he didn't believe me. Anyway, I called Neji and asked if Asashi could spend the night at his place since he didn't want to look at me. But when Neji came to get him, Asashi didn't want to leave. I think he was scared that maybe he wouldn't see me again. I promised to go too but I told him I wanted to wait for you so you knew where we were."

Sasuke nodded and swallowed. Naruto could be a huge idiot at times. "What did you tell him?"

"That Hinata was at the hospital and that maybe she wouldn't make it and neither would the baby," Naruto said and took a deep breath.

"I hope you didn't say it so bluntly," Sasuke said and then wanted to take back his words when a look of anguish crossed Naruto's features. "You did the right thing. He's old enough to understand but maybe it will be more difficult for him to accept."

"I just don't want him to get his hopes up. He's been so excited about having a baby sister and he wouldn't stop talking about the baby when he found out Hinata was at the hospital. I just, I had to tell him. I had to. Just...just in case."

"I know," Sasuke said softly and then they just sat there quietly for a moment. Naruto let out a breath and sat back, resting his head on the backrest of the sofa.

"We will move after the baby is born, though."

"What?" Sasuke asked turning his body around to look at Naruto fully.

"Back to the house," Naruto said as he looked up at the ceiling. "We only moved here because Asashi was going to school and Hinata was… But she's at the hospital now. And I think that Asashi likes living here, mostly because of you. So I figured we could wait until the baby was born and then maybe, you could come with us. Will you move in...with us...at the house?"

"Naruto…" Sasuke said and paused. What the fuck was he supposed to say? And what was Naruto actually asking? "I don't think that's a good idea."

And right then, Sasuke knew that it was time to make his decision about the letter he received. He needed some distance from Naruto before he did something he couldn't live with.

"Sasuke, I-"

"Naruto, I was given a special assignment. I leave in a couple of days," Sasuke said curtly.

Naruto leaned forward and placed his arms over his legs. He interlocked his fingers as he stared at them. "How long have you known?"

"The letter arrived the other day, but I only read it today," Sasuke replied calmly. He couldn't help the burn he felt in his stomach. Naruto was trying to imply that he was hiding the assignment from him. But Sasuke didn't owe Naruto any explanations, they weren't a couple for fuck's sake! Naruto was married! But he knew he owed Asashi at least a goodbye and an explanation. He would only be fooling himself if he said he wasn't already attached to the damn kid.

"How long will you be gone?" Naruto said and his voice was deeper, huskier. A demand for an answer. Sasuke hated the fact that he felt the need to answer. If it was anyone else, he would have already told them to fuck off.

"A week or two at the most," Sasuke said and when Naruto looked up at him with surprise, he gripped the back of the sofa so that he wouldn't punch Naruto's stupid face. "So you'll be back in time. I'm glad."

Sasuke nodded. "I should go."

"Yeah, but, Sasuke," Naruto said and reached out to grip Sasuke's forearm. Sasuke stopped midway to standing up and sat back down. "Have dinner with us tomorrow. Okay? That way you can say bye to Asashi." He tightened his grip on Sasuke's arm. "I...he'll miss you."

"I know," Sasuke said and let out a breath through his nose. He was looking right at Naruto. "I'll miss him too."

Sasuke felt lost in the moment, it was as if nothing outside of them existed. Then Naruto groaned and the weight of everything they had against them felt heavier than before.

"Sasuke, I pro-"

"Don't make promises you can't keep!"

"I'm not!" Naruto said angrily. "I was simply telling you that my promise still stands."

"Your promise still stands?" Sasuke said through gritted teeth and yanked his arm out of Naruto's grasp. He stood up and turned his back to Naruto. He let out a shaky deep and ran a hand through his hair. "From where I'm standing, it's very hard to believe you."

"I didn't know, okay? I didn't know it was going to be like this when you got back!"

"Oh?" Sasuke said and turned around to look at Naruto. He laughed humorlessly. "Are you trying to say that you thought she'd already be dead?"

"Sasuke, fuck! She's on her deathbed!"

"How do you expect me to believe anything when you're expecting a second child?"

"It's been six years! What did you expect me to do?!"

"You're right," Sasuke said and shook his head with another laugh. "It's been six years since the last time I saw you, Naruto. And Asashi is five years old. You didn't even wait three months and you were already in her arms."

"That doesn't mean anything," Naruto said and rubbed his face. "You don't understand. And I don't expect you to. But-"

"Do you love her?"

"What?" Naruto asked as he searched Sasuke's face.

"Do. You. Love. Her?"

Naruto closed his eyes and lowered his face in shame. "Yes."

The slam of the door was what made Naruto look up again. Sasuke had left. What had he expected? But he couldn't help the pain that he felt. He was losing Hinata but that was something he'd been preparing himself to deal with for some time now. It was the reality that he had lost Sasuke that made his knees buckle. He fell forward and his arms broke his fall. All he could do was lean towards the floor and let out all the anguish and fear and pain that he felt in a loud shout. He broke down and sobbed wanting to get rid of everything he was feeling.

Sasuke was leaning against Naruto's door, tears streaming down his face. He heard the pain that Naruto was in and he couldn't force himself to go back in. He had never meant to hurt Naruto. But when Naruto said he loved Hinata, he couldn't take it. He had to leave. It was worse knowing than simply imagining. What had he expected, really? For Naruto to deny it? He had been in denial since he got back and Naruto had been too busy dealing with Asashi and approaching death of Hinata to focus on him. He couldn't leave even though he wanted to get as far away from Naruto as possible. Somehow, hearing Naruto pain was comforting because that somehow meant that Naruto didn't want to lose Sasuke. And also all the more painful since Sasuke felt responsible. Without wiping his face of tears, he re-entered Naruto's apartment and hauled Naruto back up on his feet.

"Sasuke?" Naruto said as he looked through blurry eyes.

"Your son is waiting for you at Neji's, you moron," Sasuke told him as he dragged him to the bathroom. "Take a shower and go. I'll see at dinner tomorrow."

Sasuke had no idea how he was able to say all that without his voice cracking. He wiped his face with a hand towel that was on top of the sink counter before throwing it into the hamper.

"Don't let Asashi see you like this."

"Sasuke, I'm sorry."

"So am I," Sasuke said and cleared his throat. "It wasn't all your fault."

"Thank you, Sasuke," Naruto said through a choked sob. Sasuke turned away and sighed heavily. "You shouldn't thank me. I was the one who walked away. And now, I'm paying the price."

Sasuke didn't wait for Naruto to say anything else before he walked out again. He wasn't going to be able to hold it together much longer. He made his way back up to his place and went straight to bed. He pulled the covers over his body and let the tears keep falling until he fell asleep.

* * *

"He finally fell asleep," Sasuke said as he walked into the living room where Naruto was waiting.

"Thanks, Sasuke," Naruto said and swallowed. "I'm sorry I let him get so attached to you."

"You say it like it's some sort of burden for me," Sasuke said and sat beside Naruto.

"I-it isn't?" Naruto said surprised. He knew the two got along and that Sasuke always looked happy to see his son but still, he wondered if it hurt Sasuke somehow.

Sasuke didn't reply to the stupid question. He truly liked Asashi and he didn't think it had anything to do with the fact that he was Naruto's son, or maybe it did. Either way, that kid was special. He was smart and funny. And it made Sasuke happy just being around him. Sort of like Naruto. But with Naruto, it was different. It was something he didn't know how to express. He would be lying to himself if he said that in the past six years he hadn't thought of Naruto because he had. The thing was, he had more pressing matters to take care of. One of which being his brother. He knew that Naruto understood. But there was no way either one of them could do separate from the other again. He didn't know that all these feelings for Naruto were inside him and the past few weeks, they had come undone and there was no putting them back now. It was probably the same for Naruto but then again, the man had a new life with a family. Sasuke felt lucky to be a part of it, even if it was a small part.

"Heh," Naruto said nervously. "I guess I should know better that to ask something like that."

"Hn."

They were lost in their own thoughts for a few minutes.

"I don't want you to go."

"It will be the last time I do," Sasuke said unthinkingly. But he did mean it. He would speak to Kakashi and find out what he could do to be able to stay in Frondescence permanently. He never thought he'd retire so soon but as he looked over at Naruto and the hopeful look he was giving him, he knew it was time.

Before either of them realized, they were slowly moving towards each other until their lips came into contact. Their lips moved slowly almost tentatively. Sasuke reached up to cup Naruto's face and it was wet. He pulled back slightly just to see tears running down Naruto's face. He swallowed hard and pulled back.

"We shouldn't do this," Sasuke told him but Naruto wrapped his arms around him. "I don't want to stop."

"Naruto…"

"Please," Naruto said looking right at him. Sasuke wiped Naruto's face lovingly and his thumbs caressed Naruto's jaw. "I can't do this."

Naruto nodded and bent his head towards Sasuke's chest. His hands gripped Sasuke's shirt tighter and he began to sob quietly.

"Stop," Sasuke whispered through a thick voice and swallowed hard. "Since when did you become such a cry baby?"

Naruto took in a shaky breath and cleared his throat. "You want an exact date?" Naruto said with a choked laugh. He wiped his face with both his hands and moved back to slump against the sofa. He looked at Sasuke sideways. "Stay the night. Eat breakfast with us. We can walk Asashi to school. Then you can go."

"Like a happy family?"

"Don't be an asshole," Naruto grumbled and pouted. Sasuke reached forward and pinched Naruto's lips. Naruto glared at him and Sasuke chuckled. "Fine, I'll stay."

Naruto tried to smile but Sasuke was still holding his lips. His eyes got glassy but now it was because he was happy. Sasuke released his lips only to cover Naruto's face with his hand and pushed him back. Sasuke took the momentary distraction to stand up and walk out. Naruto just sat there dumbfounded.

A few minutes later, Sasuke walked back in with a duffle bag.

"Am I taking the sofa...? What?" Sasuke said while Naruto simply stared and blinked. "I didn't think you'd come back."

Sasuke lifted the bag up to Naruto's eye level. "Needed my bag."

"Right," Naruto said and stood up. "Don't even think that I'll let you stay on the couch. Let's go."

Sasuke rolled hs eyes and followed him to the bedroom.

A half hour later, they were laying in bed facing each other with the light on. Naruto was talking about something or other but Sasuke wasn't paying attention to him. Naruto noticed that Sasuke was looking right at him but wasn't seeing him. He stopped talking midsentence and reached a hand towards Sasuke's side. He put his hand on Sasuke's hip and began to rub his thumb back and forth allowing the digit to rub under the hem of Sasuke's bottoms. Sasuke blinked when he felt Naruto's touch. He looked down and noticed Naruto's hand then turned his gaze to Naruto's face. Naruto was looking at him as if he were lost in a moment and he dragged Sasuke right along with him.

It happened so fast that neither could say who initiated the kiss. But it was desperate and sloppy. Naruto pulled Sasuke's body towards him. Sasuke ended up on top of Naruto and placed one of his legs between Naruto's. He held up his upper body with his forearms and continued to kiss Naruto, allowing his lips to trail kisses down Naruto's jaw and throat. Naruto moaned and while gripping Sasuke's hips began to slowly rock his hips. Sasuke groaned and nipped at Naruto's collar bone. He sat up and took off his t-shirt and Naruto followed suit.

In a blink of an eye, they were a mess of tangled limbs. Two naked bodies writhing on top of one another. They could smell each other's musk and sweat and it spurred them on even further. Sasuke nibbled on Naruto's ear and caressed Naruto's chest paying special attention to his nipples. Their precum made it easier for their cocks to slide against one another creating delicious sensations that were making them want more and more. Before long they were both grunting and breathing heavily. Sasuke came first and moved to the side so that he could catch his breath. But Naruto grabbed Sasuke's hips. He brought Sasuke's ass towards his crotch so that he too could reach his climax.

"Naruto..." Sasuke said in a hoarse whisper when Naruto's cock slipped between his ass cheeks and began to rub against his anus. "Just a little more. I'm so close."

Sasuke couldn't help pushing his hips back for a little more friction. But then Naruto grunted and went rigid behind him right before he came all over Sasuke's ass.

"Fuck, Naruto," Sasuke said and his body shuddered when Naruto breathed heavily right by his ear. Naruto was still holding him tightly and was trying to control his breathing. "Sasuke, you better come back as fast as you possibly can."

Sasuke snorted and reached a hand back to grip Naruto's hair. He pulled it playfully. "Of course, moron."

Sasuke rolled off the bed to go to the bathroom and take a quick shower. Naruto only a few steps behind. When Sasuke turned on the shower, Naruto said half-laughing, "Hey Sasuke, did we just-?"

Sasuke clamped a hand over Naruto's mouth. But Naruto was shaking with laughter and Sasuke rested his forehead on Naruto's. "You're such a moron, you that?" Then his laughter joined Naruto's.


	9. Throne: Past

Sasuke's impressive scores and overall performance during military training not to mention his knowledge of the nation and its quadrants helped him secure the position he was aiming for. He had become an agent within an elite operation unit. It didn't take long after the war broke for him to climb the ranks within his own unit until he became the lead. But his interest wasn't the war or the cause or any matter that the populous deemed significant. His focus was on finding his brother. But he needed to play the role of a loyal agent to the new king. A king he needed to reach.

As the lead of his team, Sasuke had acquired enough knowledge of his team to know that they would follow him and also that it wouldn't be a great feat to reach the king. While in the midst of war he came up with plans of actions for his unit and coordinated with the many troops in his area to continually push the enemy back and be able to control the fight at his pace. He did not sit back and watch but he threw himself into the fray with the troops. He quickly made a name for himself and helped control many of the smaller battles until he received word he was needed elsewhere. He wasn't the only one who stood out from the rest, but it helped him to have his name in the pool. Because if his actions wouldn't garner the attention of the king, he knew very well that his name would eventually.

Danzo Shimura a well-respected general of war had become the right hand of King Sarutobi. During the reign of the kings, a relative peace had prevailed for seventeen years. Unbeknownst to the kings, however, a small group began to mobilize and infiltrate the four kingdoms and their respective nations. However, under the watchful eye of King Sarutobi, the small group of dissenters had a difficult time infiltrating and recruiting within the North's territory. So they did the next best thing, attacked the border and had a few of their own taken in as prisoners. It was simply too easy to persuade people such as Danzo, who decided to take part during the interrogation, to join their cause. Danzo was greedy and was tired of being under the king's command. He took the dissenters cause -and money- and ran with it under false pretenses. What he needed was an army of men under his own command and he convinced the king to allow him to have men directly under his own command. In time, that small army began to move freely throughout the nation, causing uprisings and misfortunes in small sections of each of the four quadrants within the strongest nation of the North.

King Sarutobi began to become suspicious of the situation within his own kingdom but Danzo was always a step ahead. Danzo pointed Sarutobi in the direction of the lead scientist, Orochimaru, who had been a captain over a troop and later became the lead of an elite unit during the last Great War. Orochimaru was imprisoned and even though he had joined the dissenters, held a grudge against Danzo because of his arrest. When Danzo decided to take control of New York, Captain Fugaku Uchiha was there to try and stop him. Fugaku's loyalty was to the king and he would not allow Danzo to treat the city under his command as his personal playground. Fugaku gathered his troops and faced Danzo. But what Fugaku had not realized was that Danzo had infiltrated the city through the sewers and began to slaughter women and children at random. It was a massacre unlike any he had experienced. Fugaku and his troops fought for control but the emotional damage was too great, they had lost many loved ones and couldn't concentrate. They fell, one after another.

Danzo called the massacre an uprising claiming that two or three clans had fought against one another. The only survivors had no idea what had occurred since the massacre took place in the darkest hours of the night. There were two survivors that Danzo was interested in: Shisui and Itachi Uchiha. The two boys were cunning and had displayed an aptitude worthy of use for him during their military training. What Danzo had not taken into account when he dragged Itachi out of his home to enlist him into his ranks at the age of thirteen was his younger brother, Sasuke. To Danzo, the little boy wasn't even worth killing. He assessed Sasuke with his eyes and only saw a frightened child who feared to be alone. Danzo scoffed and walked away leaving Sasuke to his own devices.

Nonetheless, the boy was valuable to Orochimaru and after his escape from prison, he had his assistant Kabuto keep an eye on him. Orochimaru had never been more pleased as he was when he found out that Sasuke had become an agent in an elite operation unit. It was easy for Kabatu to manipulate records and send a team that was loyal to Orochimaru into Sasuke's unit. They not only did anything that was asked of them but also fed Sasuke information about Danzo. What had interested Sasuke the most of everything he learned was that Danzo had not only taken his brother but was the one who had killed his parents. Even though the man was king, Sasuke simply saw the title as that, a title. His goal, much to Orochimaru's glee, was to kill that man.

The world had sought order after the Great War, kings were established from within the armies. Men and women who stood out as the strongest and most apt to lead were nominated. The king would be chosen by popular vote by the very men and women who had fought beside them. It had been an honor to those chosen by their own peers. But Danzo became bitter over time. His best friend was king and he was simply a general and the king's right-hand man. Danzo convinced himself that he deserved to be king so he did what he could to make that happen. And after he had taken over major cities and had a large army that followed him, he cut ties with the dissenters -killing their leader Yahiko- and then committed the first act of regicide in history. Danzo set the precedence of taking the throne by force.

Those who had been loyal to King Sarutobi wanted revenge for their fallen king. But the power Danzo had over the kingdom was palpable. Kakashi Hatake was the first who had his unit reign in their anger and declare loyalty to the new king and he convinced others to do so as well. Danzo took notice and declared Kakashi as his new right hand and appointed him general. With Kakashi's help, the captains and their troops throughout the kingdom decided to follow suit and align their allegiance with the new king. To further distract any who would try to question his right to reign, Danzo declared war against the dissenters knowing he had the upper hand since he knew their identities. The dissenters were hunted but managed to slip unnoticed always being three steps ahead of Danzo.

Danzo was taken by surprise when he found out that Yahiko had only been a front and the true leader of the dissenters had been manipulating the King of the East since the beginning of his reign. When Tobi, the leader of the dissenters, heard of Danzo's betrayal and subsequent rise to the throne using his funds, he had the King of the East declare war on the North. The Kings of the South and the West were forced to take sides when the dissenters made their presence known within their own kingdoms.

When Danzo heard of Sasuke's success in the war, he called him forth to the municipal city so that he could meet him in person. He had a special assignment for him. One that he knew only Sasuke and his elite operation unit could undertake. They would have to infiltrate the dissenters and kill their leader. Sasuke took the opportunity to request a private audience with the king. Sasuke's team was sent to the assignment room for a debriefing of their new assignment from Ibiki Morino and Aoba Yamashiro. Kakashi, at Danzo's request, entered the man's private office with the two. Sasuke reiterated that he asked for a private audience with the king. Danzo eyed the young man warily and then relented having Kakashi take post outside the door.

"What is so important that you need to speak to me alone?" Danzo said while standing behind his desk. He had his hands in his tunic but was on guard all the same much to Sasuke's consternation. Sasuke had noticed that the man hadn't changed much, he still had wary eyes that took everything in. Danzo had too much experience in war and since he was deceitful by nature, he was unable to trust anyone around him. Sasuke had even come to believe that even though Kakashi was his right hand, the two men didn't see eye to eye. They were both wary of one another and that was something Sasuke was willing to take advantage of.

"Itachi Uchiha," Sasuke answered but didn't elaborate. Danzo's eyes widened then narrowed. He scoffed as he looked at Sasuke and finally understood what Sasuke was doing there.

"Your brother is a traitor," Danzo told him. Sasuke had schooled his features so as not to show any reaction.

"I was there when you took him from our home. I've been searching for him ever since that day," Sasuke told him with such a calm demeanor that Danzo almost believed that Sasuke didn't care.

"It's true. I enlisted him at an early age, but he didn't maintain his loyalty. He joined the dissenters soon after he became the lead of his own unit," Danzo said and watched Sasuke closely. "Did he not say he would find you?" Sasuke nodded. "I looked over your civilian record. You have quite a few traveling permits under your belt. I take it you searched for your brother and came empty handed." Sasuke nodded once again. "He was aware you were searching for him but was afraid you'd blow his cover as a spy for the dissenters. When you gave up your search, he deserted his unit and went completely under. I haven't seen or heard from him until recently."

"Where is he now?" Sasuke asked quickly and wanted to bite his tongue for sounded so eager. If what Danzo was saying was true, then Itachi had purposely kept him at an arm's length. Sasuke felt stupid for ever believing that his brother might want to see him again.

"He is in the company of the leader of the dissenters. That is where I am sending your unit. But tell me, what will you do when you see Itachi?" Danzo said as he rounded the desk to lean on it as he continued to gaze at Sasuke.

"I'm going to kill him," Sasuke said lowering his voice and Danzo nodded. He looked over towards the door and called out to Kakashi so that the man would enter. But to Sasuke, it was an opportunity he had to take. It was the first and most likely the last time that Danzo would lower his guard before him. With all the training and field experience Sasuke had, he was able to move quickly and swiftly towards Danzo. He had a small blade hidden in his left hand. He grabbed Danzo's shoulder with his right hand to distract him. Danzo reacted exactly as Sasuke thought he would. He opened the left side of his body for the attack. Sasuke stabbed Danzo's neck repeatedly in quick successions before the man could react.

When Kakashi entered the office, he saw Sasuke step away from Danzo. Sasuke's face, neck, and hands were covered in a fine mist of blood. Danzo was trying to stop the hemorrhage to no avail. Blood was spraying from his neck and there was nothing anyone could do or would do for him. Danzo stopped trying to stanch the bleeding and had given up reaching towards Kakashi for him to help. He fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"The king is dead," Sasuke announced grabbing a cloth from the desk and proceeded to wipe his face calmly. Kakashi was stunned. The young man had done what he and many others had been wanting to do since Danzo had killed Sarutobi. He didn't care what Sasuke's reasons were, he had done the kingdom a great service. "According to precedence, I should be king. However, I will appoint you, Kakashi Hatake, as the new king."

"What?!" Kakashi said, his eyes widening to saucers.

"I need to stop Tobi and the dissenters. One way or another this war will be over soon. It has gone on long enough. Don't you think, King Kakashi?" Sasuke said with a smug smirk.

"I do not accept," Kakashi said and then let out a drawn out sigh when he saw Sasuke's glare. "But I do agree that you are one of the only two who can stop Tobi. I will not prevent you from going after him. But upon your return, you will take the throne. I will only act as Regent in King Sasuke's absence."

"We will talk about this later," Sasuke said sternly and Kakashi nodded. "Who is the other person of which you speak?"

"Naruto Uzumaki," Kakashi said and Sasuke's eyes widened. "When war broke, he was assigned to a troop that fought between the border of the North and South. In time, he became captain. He was able to hold off many of the South's advances with the help of many troops and even took down King Rasa's son, Gaara, who was feared by many. Naruto allowed Gaara to live and there was a respite of three days before the fighting began anew. However, we received word that Gaara killed his father and is now the new King of the South. Gaara requested an audience with Naruto and he signed a peace treaty with the North that would only be put into effect as long as Naruto and his second in command Shikamaru commandeered his troops until the war was over to which they both readily agreed. When Danzo called forth Naruto for an audience, Gaara refused to send him."

"Why?"

"Gaara came to the knowledge that not only Danzo but also his father had ties with the dissenters. Danzo cut ties with them prior to declaring war but Gaara's father hadn't. That was the reason the South had allied with the East originally. Now that Danzo is dead, I have a feeling Gaara will ask to meet with you to plan out a strategy to take out Tobi. Once Tobi is dealt with, the war will be over since Mei has also killed King the of the East, Yagura, after having found out that he was being manipulated by Tobi ever since the man took the throne. Mei is now the King or perhaps I should say Queen of the East. However, she doesn't know who to trust and has yet to ally with anyone since Gaara cut ties with the East prior to Yagura's death. Her troops are still fighting against the forces of the West. Gaara and Danzo sent troops to the West to help control the situation with the East. But if all kingdoms stop fighting suddenly, Tobi might go into hiding."

"If I'm not mistaken, there is an island up North that has maintained neutrality and is not governed by any king," Sasuke said and Kakashi nodded. "You should convene there with the kings and queen. Since three of the kings are allies there should be no reason why the three of you can't convince the queen that the war she continues fighting is over. However, you should spread news worldwide that a conference between kings will take place in the capital city of Oceania."

"You want to redirect the dissenters there," Kakashi said and Sasuke nodded. "It can be done. I need a week's time to prepare and in two weeks time we will hold the conference."

"That should give my unit plenty of time to infiltrate the ranks of the dissenters," Sasuke said and Kakashi nodded in agreement. "Burn this man's body." Sasuke gestured to Danzo's corpse. "He doesn't deserve a burial. I need to get cleaned up."

"Follow me, your highness," Kakashi said sounding far too amused for Sasuke's taste.

"Unless you want me to kill you as well, you will take the throne," Sasuke said and Kakashi chuckled raising his arms in surrender. "Now, now, I accepted to act as regent until the war is over."

"Hn."


	10. Throne: Present

When Sasuke arrived at the Municipal City, a driver was waiting for him to take him to the main hall. Once there a secretary ushered him into a debriefing room. Kakashi, Itachi, Inoichi, Ibiki, and Shikaku were sitting in wait. Sasuke held back the need to roll his eyes and sat down. He had been called in for a special assignment but considering those who were in the debriefing room, it seemed that it was simply a hoax to get him to come back to the Municipal City.

Kakashi is the Regent and never official took the throne. The North was the only kingdom without a permanent leader but since they were the key players in ending the war and putting a stop to Tobi, the other kingdoms respected whatever leadership was in play. Itachi is Head of Investigations that is in charge of the elite operation units that are sent out throughout the kingdom to solve and prevent major crimes that try to disrupt the established rule. Inoichi is the Head of the Intelligence Division which collects, analyzes, evaluates, and disseminates foreign intelligence to assist in making decisions relating to the kingdom as a whole. Ibiki is the head of the Covert Interrogation Department that works in conjunction with Investigations and the Intelligence Division. Shikaku is the General in charge of all the military captains and their troops. And even though the kingdom is no longer at war, the troops are still assigned to specific quadrants in which they serve and protect civilians as Military Police. Not only is Shikaku the General but also Kakashi's main advisor. The five men sitting before Sasuke are the core of the kingdom's established rule. The only person above them is the king. A king that has been in the shadows since the end of the war and took an unprecedented vacation a few months back. One that the five men sitting before Sasuke tried to impede to no avail.

"What is this about? Did I not inform you all that I was going on an extended military leave?" Sasuke said and looked at each and every person in the room. None of them reacted, having already become accustomed to Sasuke's refusal of being seen as the rightful king.

"Little brother, the Kings of the South, East, and West and the representative of Oceania are demanding an audience with our King," Itachi told him in a stern voice.

"So what was I called in for? Is Kakashi unwilling to meet with them?" he said to Itachi but sent a glare in Kakashi's direction.

"I am not the king," Kakashi said sternly.

So this is what this was, some sort of intervention? Had Sasuke not made it perfectly clear that he appointed Kakashi as King? Had he not been specific in saying that he was simply a military operative?

"It's time for you to step out hiding and show your face for the world to see," Shikaku told him. "Only those of us here know who you really are and what you've done for the kingdom as a whole, but the people have a right to know who's been ruling them."

"Kakashi has been ruling them," Sasuke said with a frown. He crossed his arms over the table and looked at each man individually once more. They all had more knowledge and experience than he did. Any one of them could stand in his place and rule. The king simply a title; a face. There were many people involved in the decisions that were made to rule over the people not to mention the many divisions, units, and departments that safeguarded the kingdom itself. "That is a fact known worldwide."

"Sasuke, you forget the most important thing. Kakashi never officially took seat on the throne," Inoichi told him in a respectful tone. "And no matter how many times you say that you appointed him king, there is no proof of such on paper and there are no official witnesses to attest to it. You have to come forth as the true King and then step down if you so wish. But it needs to be done publicly, with witnesses, and official documentation. We've allowed you to stay in the shadows this long simply because it was of a great advantage to the kingdom as a whole, but it's now time you come forth."

"There is nothing more for you to do from the shadows. As a matter of fact, there hasn't been any reason for you to stay hidden for three years now. And you can't say that Kakashi has been ruling the kingdom when that is not true, little brother," Itachi told him and smiled. "Kakashi has not done anything without your approval. As a matter of fact, none of us have. Simply because we acknowledged you from the very beginning. Now, I know you're shy," Sasuke snorted. "but it's time."

"You have twenty minutes to change and freshen up," Ibiki said with an amused look on his face. "The other world leaders know you are here and await your presence."

"And if I refuse?" Sasuke said and crossed his arms over his chest. All five men furrowed their brows at him but didn't reply. "I actually came for a reason. To inform Kakashi that I was retiring as a military operative."

"Your request is fully noted and accepted," Shikaku said and gave him a sly smile. "However, your position as king still stands. You may be a strong and experienced fighter but can't take us all on. So unless you want us to physically force you to meet the other leaders, I suggest you do as Ibiki says."

"Follow me to your chambers, you only have seventeen minutes left," Ibiki said and walked over to Sasuke. Sasuke sighed in resignation and stood to follow the man out the door. At the doorway, he looked over his shoulder. "I will meet with them and address anything that needs my approval. But afterward, I will continue my leave in Frondescence and Kakashi you will continue to hold your place as Regent."

"We need to let the kingdom know who their king is soon," Kakashi told him and waited for Sasuke's response. But a response never came. He simply walked out of the room and followed Ibiki to his chambers to ready himself to meet the others. It wasn't as if it would be the first time he would be before them, it was simply that it would be the first time he would do it as a king instead of Kakashi's guard.

* * *

When Sasuke finished changing into the official king's tunic, he scowled at nothing. He followed Ibiki to the main meeting room where he knew the others were awaiting his presence. He looked at Ibiki and said, "Are you entering the room with me as my guard?"

"No. Actually, the King's official guard is Kakashi," Ibiki said with a chuckle.

Sasuke smirked at the response. It made sense, it truly did. Kakashi had never left Sasuke's side until recently that is. "I imagine I was watched and followed when I went to Frondescence."

"Of course, we sent our best to watch over you," Ibiki said with a slight bow.

"And who would that be?" Sasuke asked now a bit more curiously.

"Covert operatives that are known as Eagle, Boar, Tiger, Bird, and Fox," Ibiki said and Sasuke nodded. He knew who they were and their identities were kept hidden for a reason. They were part of the Assassination and Tactical Squad. "We also made arrangements so that Naruto Uzumaki would live in your building. He wasn't aware why that building, in particular, was important, but he was tasked to keep it secure. An assignment he welcomed since he had taken an indefinite leave due to the health of his wife."

"That was Kakashi's doing," Sasuke said through gritted teeth.

"Is it a problem? We are all under the impression that Naruto Uzumaki is a friend of yours," Ibiki said and looked at him with a sidelong glance. But Sasuke didn't reply, he was looking straight ahead at Kakashi who was leaning against the wall outside the meeting room.

"Kakashi, I will have a word with you in private once this meeting is over," Sasuke said sounding more than a little upset. Kakashi's eyes widened but he nodded nonetheless. He looked over at Ibiki who simply shrugged.

"Very well," Kakashi said sounding more bored than curious. Then he opened the door and gestured for Sasuke to enter.

When Sasuke entered the room followed by Kakashi, those in attendance were slightly confused. They had been told they'd be meeting with the King of the North, not the Regent Kakashi and his private guard who was basically the right-hand man. But as they looked at Sasuke's tunic, three of the four world leaders present raised their eyebrows in surprise. Gaara was the only one who wasn't shocked, he was smiling at Sasuke glad that the man finally came before them as King. Something he hadn't done before.

"King Sasuke, it's a pleasure to know you will officially take the throne," Gaara the King of the South told him voicing his thoughts and answering the unasked questions of those who surrounded him.

"What? You're the king?" Darui said asking the obvious in shock. He knew Sasuke, of course, they all did. Sasuke alongside Naruto were considered the highest players and heroes of the Worldwide War, which is what the war was called since every kingdom and the two neutral nations that were separate from the kingdoms joined the fight -one voluntarily and the other by force. Darui was the King of the West, successor to A when he stepped down a few years after the war ended due to illness.

"We should've known there was a reason to your arrogance," Chojuro said with a smirk. Chojuro had recently become the King of the East when Mei stepped down earlier that year stating that she wanted to give the younger generation a chance to reform the world before the peace they were enjoying came to an end.

"Well now that we know it's you, we can be at rest since the King has always been present in each and every meeting since the Worldwide War," Kurotsuchi said with a wry grin. She was the official representative of Oceania and its territories who refused to be ruled by a monarchy and instead chose a republic for their government.

"But why did you choose to be in shadows instead of coming forward?" Darui asked curiously.

"I had things to do. I couldn't very well do them if I was known to the world as the King of the North," Sasuke said casually.

"He was already king when he infiltrated the dissenters and also took it upon himself to act as a spy to ensure another war wouldn't arise," Gaara told Darui who scoffed annoyed.

"So you knew he was the King of the North and you didn't tell any of us?" Darui said in an accusatory tone.

"I did," Gaara said with a slight nod. "I was told when it was believed he would take the throne and I happened to be in the vicinity. Due to circumstances, it was best that I keep his secret so as not to disrupt his mission that if successful would benefit us all. Why he didn't come forth to you all after that mission was successfully completed, I do not know. What I do know is that he isn't satisfied with sitting on the throne, he prefers a hands-on approach in his rule."

"Now that you have come forth to us, will you finally let the world know you are king publicly?" Kurotsuchi asked with a tilt of her head.

Sasuke sighed, it wasn't what he wanted to do and Kakashi and the others knew it. But he knew it was time even though he would fight to put a hold on such request. "Not yet," Sasuke said and Kakashi released a long drawn out breath.

"Whether he wants to or not, he will be forced to," Kakashi said and looked at Sasuke sternly even though the younger man had shot him a glare.

"I am currently on vacation and will be so for a while longer," Sasuke said ignoring Kakashi. "Until then, I do not plan to come forward publicly. It is all I will say on the matter."

"If everything Gaara mentioned is true, then I can see why you are on vacation. Enjoy your time off, Sasuke," Chojuro said and with a small smile and Sasuke nodded in thanks.

"Then lets us commence our meeting so that you may return to your respite," Gaara said and gestured to guard posted at the door to allow the secretary who would take the meeting minutes to enter.

* * *

After the meeting, Kakashi met with Sasuke in his private office. Sasuke didn't sit down, instead, he rounded on Kakashi and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and shoved him towards the nearest wall.

"You gave Naruto the assignment to keep vigilance over me?" Sasuke said through gritted teeth.

Kakashi who had been taken off guard had raised his eyebrows almost to his hairline. But upon hearing what Sasuke was saying realized it was simply one more childish complaint. "He was in the area and was feeling stir crazy since he'd been on a forced leave from his military duties. I gave him something to do without any specific details. I hardly think he was aware he was watching over his King. Not to mention, his past lover."

Sasuke released of Kakashi with a push and looked down. He was angry, more with himself than Kakashi. If what Kakashi said was true, then he hadn't paid enough attention to Naruto while he had been around him. It was no wonder he had broken down with so much pain the night before he left. He was not only looking at losing a part of his family, a woman he said he loved, and maybe losing a child, granted it was one he had not met yet, and to top it off had been forced to be on leave. With nothing to do and all of the tribulation that was forced on him without an outlet, it was only a matter of time that he broke down emotionally. And his trials were not over, not for some time to come.

"Let's get all the bullshit out of the way so that I can get back," Sasuke said looking at Kakashi with a new determination. "We will need to talk about me stepping down-"

"That is out of the question," Kakashi said with a shake of his head. "You are barely stepping out of the shadows, stepping down will only shake the kingdom. It will make them think you were ashamed to be king, to begin with. Abandoning the throne will be like a slap to face. It will make it seem like you don't care about the people. And if you don't, how could they trust a new king. It will shake the kingdom to the core and bring rise to a revolution. Is that what you want?"

"Fuck!" Sasuke said and with a fisted hand knocked everything off the desk with a sweep of his arm. "I appointed you king from the very beginning! I didn't ask for this! I simply wanted to avenge my parents and my brother!"

"If that was the case, then why did you work so hard to make certain that all your people were safe? Why did you refuse to take the throne officially early on so that you could appoint a new king?" Kakashi asked rhetorically. Sasuke's eyes widened when he realized what Kakashi was implying. "You care about the people. You didn't want them to suffer the same fate you had. You weren't the only one who wanted to take that monster out of the equation. You were simply the first and only person to get the chance to do it. But now you are responsible for assuring that all he did never happens again."

"Tch!" Sasuke said and looked away. Everything Kakashi said was true. He didn't want any more unnecessary deaths due to the greed for power. And holding on to the throne and forcing Kakashi to be regent helped him ensure that it wouldn't happen again. But Kakashi and the others were right, he couldn't stay in the shadows any longer. He just wasn't ready to give Naruto again. He had been an idiot to believe that he could retire as if he were a simple military operative like everyone else. What a fucking stupid delusion he had made up for himself. It was time to grow up and face the truth and his responsibilities. But he couldn't simply leave Naruto on his own. He wouldn't. He'd be there for him until he was sure that Naruto would be able to stand on his own two feet following Hinata's death.

"I need to go back for a few weeks," Sasuke said and Kakashi nodded in understanding. "Then I'll return and make a worldwide announcement."

Kakashi smiled and reached out to clap a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "We have plenty to do."

"Right."

"Have a seat," Kakashi told him and opened the door to call someone in to clean up the mess Sasuke had made. Then with a push of a button on his cell phone called Shikaku to inform him that they were ready to officially make Sasuke the King of the North.

If Sasuke would've known that task involved a lot of paperwork and meeting the head of all the departments officially, a task that would take up to a week of appointments, he would've forced Kakashi to do it in his stead. He tried on the second day and the third and gave up trying to get Kakashi to relent on the fourth day. It seemed he had lost his power over the man. Now that he was officially the King, he had been scolded more than when he was a kid. It left him in a sour mood and a permanent scowl on his face. But Kakashi was smiling and looked more refreshed with each day that passed. But by the end of the sixth day, and all the appointments that he was forced to meet were done, he left matters to Kakashi once more. He would return to Frondescence -to Naruto- and enjoy the little time they had left together since he would have to move to Municipal City to oversee the kingdom officially as King of the North in his rightful place: the throne.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Don't know when I'll make another update. There's not much feedback so I'll just leave the story here for the time being.**_


	11. Together: Past

"Naruto," Shikamaru said when he entered the barracks. "What did they say?"

Together they had been fighting for the King of the South for a year now. Neither Naruto nor Shikamaru minded not even a bit since it helped keep a truce treaty between the North and South in effect. Right from the get-go, Naruto realized that the training the troops from the South received was quite different from their own so both Naruto and Shikamaru had learned a lot; from battle tactics to combat skills. But they had begun to wonder if their friends were okay. They hadn't crossed paths with any of them since they switched over to the South. Because of how busy they had been, they hadn't even been able to send word to them. But from the message he received from the North's headquarters moments ago, it seemed the war was close to the end.

"We've been called back to the North," Naruto said with a wide smile.

"Huh?" Shikamaru said a bit confused. That was not what he had been expected to hear. "Does Gaara know?"

"I sent word to him just now," Naruto said with a hop in his step. "It's big, Shika. This next move will definitely end the war."

Shikamaru's eyes widened before he too smiled. "It's about time."

* * *

The following morning, Gaara didn't even hesitate. He left General Baki in charge of his kingdom and mounted his personal jet with his siblings, Naruto, and Shikamaru. They were heading to the Municipal City in the North. Naruto was happy about the turn of events because he knew that his friends would be waiting there for him. He knew Gaara was a bit on edge with the situation in the North in regards to the kingdom being led by a Regent since the death of King Danzo but trusted that the plan that General Shikaku had in mind was sound.

Shikamaru wasn't surprised that his father had been become the General since the man had made a name for himself in the last Great War alongside Ino and Choji's father. He did, however, worry what reception he would receive for having been fighting for the South. In a way they were fighting the same fight being allies and all but still, he never knew what his father might say. Temari sensing his nervousness, leaned into Shikamaru and smiled at him in a reassuring way. Shikamaru let out a shaky laugh and shook his head. He was far too worried for no good reason.

"Naruto!"

"Naruto!"

"Shikamaru!"

Naruto smiled widely at the chorus he was greeted with upon entering the main hall. He had asked for his old troop to be called in to fight under his command hopefully for the last time. If all went well this time around, the war would be over. He looked over at the bright faces of his old friends and new ones that served him while he was captain. When Gaara had asked him and Shikamaru to fight for the South, he had recommended that Neji be made captain. From the armband Neji was wearing, it was clear that he was a captain. Naruto went up to him first and clapped him on his shoulder before drawing him into a tight hug. The others laughed at the uncomfortable look that crossed Neji's face before he too wrapped his arms around Naruto. Sakura, Ino, and Tenten gave him a group hug. But Kiba pulled the girls away to hug Naruto with a fierce force that left him drained and only half-heartedly waving at Shino, Lee, and Choji. Shikamaru took the easy route and simply waved at them all from afar with a lazy smile in play. But Choji was not having that at all and gave Shikamaru the tightest bear hug -while simultaneously lifting him off his feet- that Shikamaru had ever received.

Shikamaru and Naruto received pats on the back from Inoichi and Shikaku who then introduced them to the Regent. The Regent, Kakashi, thanked them on behalf of the King and the kingdom for not only bringing the North and South to a truce but also for representing the North in an exceptional manner. Naruto had to hold back a snort of amusement but Shikamaru didn't care about showing face before the Regent and rolled his eyes. Kakashi simply smiled at him and turned to look at Shikaku and said, "He truly is your son."

"Tch."

Inoichi couldn't help but laugh at Shikaku's reaction.

"Now then," Kakashi said and turned to look at Shikaku. "It's time for them to hear about the operation." Shikaku nodded and proceeded to explain what they were to do and where they needed to go to accomplish it.

"Oceania?!" Kiba said voicing everyone's question in a booming voice.

"Yes," Shikaku said and rolled his eyes muttering something under his breath. "You will be the security detail in place there while the real conference takes place in a neutral country. We are hoping to draw out the leader but if he doesn't show up, at the very least you can take out the key players within the dissenters. If you can manage that, we can end the war."

"What if the leader doesn't show up?" Neji asked the question everyone was thinking. If the leader of the dissenters isn't taken out, will the war truly be over? It had been a long three years and everyone wanted the war to come to an end. They were tired, on edge, and simply put afraid. So many had already died that it was only a matter of time before death came calling for them.

"It won't be a problem. We have placed a few agents within the dissenters. If the leader doesn't go to Oceania, our agents will go to him."

Everyone grinned, satisfied with that answer. They went over a few more details and then Gaara asked about the King. He was not happy that he had to speak with the Regent especially while having a tentative truce. Gaara wanted to make certain that the new King of the North would not be as weak minded and power hungry as his father and Danzo had been. And the only way for him to know whether or not he could place his trust in the North was by speaking to the King directly.

"The King's identity will not be disclosed as of yet," Kakashi told him with a smile. Then his face took on a far more serious look. "Danzo was a traitor to the crown. But he had far too much influence and had set his claws far too deep within the kingdom, which made it almost impossible to overthrow him. Because of his own paranoia of not being to trust anyone, not even his own men, he made me his General, bodyguard, and right-hand man. But he knew to a certain extent that I was not loyal to him directly, I simply served the crown. Upon his death, I as well as many who did not wish to be under Danzo's rule felt as if King Hiruzen was rightfully avenged. I was made the Regent and personally rid the King's cabinet of any remaining Danzo supporters. But there are many within the kingdom who still seek to take the throne by force. We have a long road ahead of us, first we need to end a war then and only then will we be able to uproot any remaining supporters of Danzo throughout the kingdom. But rest assure that the new King is an honorable man. He fights for his people and is doing so as we speak. None of us here, myself included, do anything without his expressed consent. However, he wishes me to be his face and voice. I take this position seriously and do not in any way, shape, or form, intend to act as the King's heart or mind."

Everyone seemed to be taken aback by his words. And the room fell quiet. Kakashi and Gaara held each other's gaze for a few moments that felt like an eternity for the others. Then Gaara nodded.

"Thank you for your honesty," Gaara said sincerely. "The truce between our two kingdoms will stay in effect until I can speak to the King directly. At which time, I will make a choice to either break it or make it binding."

"Good," Kakashi said with his cheerful smile. "Now then, why don't you come with me and I'll show you to your chambers. Inoichi, have Genma escort Naruto and Shikamaru to their rooms." Kakashi turned to everyone present while Inoichi called Genma to the conference room. "We'll have dinner in an hour. After breakfast tomorrow, Naruto you and your troop will meet up with Ibiki and Shikaku to go over battle plans and start training."

"Training?" Naruto asked but Kakashi had already stood and gestured for Gaara and Kankuro, his guard, to follow. Temari stayed with the others since she was planning on joining them on the operation.

"Yes, training," Shikaku told him with a frown marring his face. "You will be going up against opponents with unique skill sets. Training begins tomorrow at seven sharp." He looked at everyone individually as they one by one nodded in understanding. "You will deploy in two weeks time."

A rap on the door announced a new arrival and cut off any question or comments that the others were about to voice. Genma walked in and with a smirk gestured for Naruto, Shikamaru, and Temari to follow.

* * *

"I know that your reason for joining up with us was simply because you wanted to be closer to your brother," Tobi told Sasuke eyeing him warily. "But you see, that wasn't a good enough selling point for me. That is why I've kept him from seeing you." Sasuke ground his teeth but didn't reply. "But I'll happily arrange a family reunion if you complete the next task."

"What do you need me to do?"

"It's simply really," Tobi said and decided to pace languidly. Sasuke followed his movement with his gaze. "The four Kings will gather for a conference in a week. I want you, Kisame, Kakazu, and Hidan to keep an eye on the area West of the conference hall by air. You will need to stay out of view. I trust that your aerial skills are on par with your battle skills."

"Of course," Sasuke said and scoffed.

"Arrogance," Tobi said stopping his pacing and looking directly at Sasuke before he chuckled. "If it were anyone else, I'd knock them off their pedestal but doing such to you would only hurt you. You need your arrogance to fuel your actions. Otherwise, you'd be like all those others that simply give up trying just to curl up and die."

"I don't plan on doing that anytime soon."

Tobi chuckled. "At least you're amusing." He smiled at Sasuke but Sasuke simply pouted refusing to look away. Tobi chuckled once more. "Deidara and Sasori will be on the ground near the conference hall. Nagato, Konan, your brother, and I will be ten miles East side of the conference hall making sure all our ducks are in a neat little row. If all goes as planned, we will be ruling the world by the end of the week."

"When do you plan to allow a face to face between my brother and I, before or after we take our seats before the world?"

"Ha! I like the way you worded that," Tobi said but he didn't reply. He simply saw his way out of the room and left Sasuke glaring at the back of the door he closed behind him.

* * *

Naruto and his troops arrived the day before the conference in Oceania. They were set to be in position two hours prior to the start of the conference. Doubles for the kings were in place at their respective hotels East of the conference hall. They would be escorted by Onoki's -the representative of Oceania- private guard to ensure their safety. Naruto's troop was supposed to meet up with old man Onoki upon arrival. However, Onoki was secure in a safe house and his granddaughter would be meeting with them in his stead.

Kurotsuchi met them at the hotel she had set them up in and led them to a secure room. She went over the plans and then announced that she would be accompanying them to help fend off the dissenters. When Naruto tried to protest, she quieted him down saying she was just as lethal as anyone of them in the room and perhaps even more so. Then she smirked and Naruto had no choice but to mimic the gesture.

"The more the merrier," Naruto said and Shikamaru shook his head.

"Troublesome. Now we have to reorganize our positions."

"That won't be necessary. Kurotsuchi, you'll be with me and Neji on the East perimeter. I want to see you in action when we meet those lowlife scum and please, don't hold back."

"Hmph! As if I would," Kurotsuchi said and Naruto beamed.

* * *

"Sasuke, hold back some. We still have an hour," Kisame told him with an amused grin. They were in a helicopter that belonged to a new station. They had commandeered it that morning leaving the pilot, reporter, and cameraman bound, gagged, and locked in a storage bin on the roof where their helipad was located. "I know you're as excited as I am to kill these assholes but there's no need to jump the gun."

"There's movement down there, I don't see why we have to wait for the detonation. It's much simpler to pick them off as they arrive," Sasuke said with an annoyed glare. "Not to mention, if we keep hovering like this, we'll need to set the bird down to refill."

"We've got that covered," Kakazu told him and pointed to a skyscraper that was a mile off. "On the roof. Set us down on your next pass, we'll set everything up. You'll be able to make a couple more passes before you need to refill."

"Everything is already set up, Kakazu my man," Hidan said with a chuckle. "You simply don't want to admit you're getting motion sickness."

"It can't be helped," Kakazu said in annoyance. Hidan and Kisame chuckled.

"You should've said so from the get-go," Sasuke said casually. It actually played into his favor to get rid of two of them. He could deal with Kisame easier on his own and then he'd head back to finish the other two off without anyone being the wiser. "I'll drop you off now. We're not set to do anything until after the explosions anyway."

"True," Kakazu said swallowed and then gagged.

"Ah, make it quick, my man is about to blow chunks," Hidan said amused. Kakazu groaned and couldn't hold it any longer when Sasuke made a quick turn. "Thar she blows!"

"You are one sick fuck," Kisame said but chuckled nonetheless.

"As soon as I get my feet on solid ground," Kakazu said after a coughing fit. "I'll kill you."

Sasuke smirked and the other two laughed wholeheartedly. Even though they were the bad guys and he was about to kill them, he had enjoyed their company. They weren't boring in the least.

* * *

"Heads up," Neji said and gestured to a news chopper that was landing on the road a few blocks from the conference hall.

"Why is it landing there?" Naruto said as he watched the helicopter land while tipping to one side and seemingly losing control.

"It's our job to find out," Kurotsuchi said and made contact with the rest of the security detail as they closed in on the chopper.

"Slow down guys," Naruto said cautiously and removed his weapon from the holster. "I don't know about the pilot, the glare is blocking my view of him but the co-pilot is definitely one of the dissenters."

"Which one?" Neji asked as he squinted through the glare.

"Kisame."

Neji and Kurotsuchi sucked in a breath. Then a series of muted pops were heard. The noise had echoed off the buildings. Kisame's body excited the chopper as if he were thrown. He landed in a sitting position and then slumped to the ground. His head looked as if it were missing a chunk.

"Naruto!" He looked up at the pilot. He recognized the voice.

"Sasuke?" Naruto said as he put up a hand to shade his eyes.

"What are you doing out here?" Sasuke asked in a lowered voice as he walked a little closer. Neji pulled out his weapon and aimed. Sasuke ignored him and continued to close the gap between him and Naruto while holding his weapon tightly against his thigh. "You're going to get yourself killed. This entire area is rigged to blow fifteen minutes after the conference is set to begin."

"And how did you come by this information?" Neji asked in a cold voice. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him. Then he gestured to the cloak he was wearing that identified him as a dissenter.

"Stand down, Neji," Naruto said and walked closer to Sasuke. He went in to give him a hug but Sasuke pushed him away. That made Kurotsuchi wary and she pulled out her weapon.

"Don't fire," Sasuke told her. She was a bit too jumpy for his taste. At least the other one was keeping calm. "Don't be an idiot. I just finished saying that the place was rigged with explosives."

"Yet you fired your weapon not even two minutes ago," Neji said with a suspicious glare.

"Yeah, and I know exactly where I can fire and where I can't," Sasuke told him and turned away from him to look at Naruto. "You didn't answer me."

"I was sent with my troops," Naruto said with a tilt of his head. He didn't know what was going on with Sasuke but he was positive Sasuke truly wouldn't be with the dissenters. "Are you one of the agents Kakashi integrated into their ranks?"

"I'm the only one," Sasuke said. "The others were turned away by Tobi. If they didn't report back to Kakashi, they must be lying in wait for me. But nevermind that. Listen to me carefully, someone might be watching as we speak." Sasuke said and two out of the three idiots before him began to look around. At least Naruto kept his gaze on him. "I am going to give you five seconds to tell your troops and any other agents you have out here to get out of the area. If you don't, I'll kill you myself."

Neji and Kurotsuchi didn't know what to make of Sasuke but they trusted Naruto enough to wait for his orders. Naruto didn't hesitate to get a hold of Shikamaru and relayed the information Sasuke had told him. He told Shikamaru to have everyone move out in pairs without raising alarm. Then he told Kurotsuchi to make sure that the decoys never left the hotel. Kurotsuchi nodded.

"Now then," Sasuke said with a smirk. He raised his weapon and shot Neji in the thigh. Then he quickly grabbed Naruto to use him as cover from the other two as he backed up to the chopper. Naruto sent Kurotsuchi and Neji a reassuring smile. "There are eyes in the area." Sasuke said it in a whisper right at Naruto's ear but he knew that everyone on Naruto's team could hear what he said through their headsets. Kurotsuchi covered Neji while he hobbled back up to his feet. "I heard you were a proficient trooper." Naruto snorted. "Good. I have two men waiting on a roof nearby. One has motion sickness and the other has a very high tolerance for pain."

"Kakazu and Hidan?" Naruto asked quietly and curiously.

"You did your homework," Sasuke praised and shoved him into the chopper before he took to the air again. "I'll let you take out Hidan." Naruto smirked. Sasuke saw from above that Kurotsuchi helped Neji hobble out of the area. "It's a good thing they listen to you. Now, take out your radio and throw it out of the chopper."

Naruto did as asked with a frown. "You didn't have to shoot him, you know?" He crossed his arms and looked away.

"I didn't like him," Sasuke said and smirked.

"He's Hinata's cousin," Naruto told him amusedly.

"Now, I really don't like him," he said but was smiling. Naruto laughed. "Who's here with you?"

"Everyone," Naruto said with a shrug.

"Hinata?"

"No," Naruto said with a shake of his head. "She didn't clear medical and was not allowed to join the ranks. Something about a preexisting condition. I haven't seen her since before the war started."

"Ah," Sasuke said because he didn't know what else to say. He heard Naruto sigh. "What's the matter? Did you miss this month's love letter or something?"

"No, you bastard!" Naruto said highly annoyed. "If you must know, I broke it off with her after we...me and you. When we...you know."

"Hn."

Naruto groaned loudly and turned a fierce glare on Sasuke. "The war is about to come to an end."

"Yeah," Sasuke said and eyed him from the corner of his eyes.

"Afterward," Naruto said and sighed. "Afterward, I want us to be together."

Sasuke didn't reply. He couldn't. They were only a few seconds away from landing. "Is your head in this because we're about to land?"

"Yeah," Naruto said in a gruff tone. "I'm ready to take them all on!"

Sasuke snorted. "Good. But you only need to take one down. I'll get the other."

"Got it!"

* * *

Kakazu was still trying to get the nauseating feeling to subside when they landed on the roof of the building. Sasuke eyed Naruto who was in the back and out of sight. Naruto nodded adding a silencer to the tip of his weapon. Sasuke got down first and asked Hidan if Kakazu was okay in order to redirect his attention opposite from the chopper. Kakazu groaned again. He was sitting on the ground, head between his legs. Hidan laughed it up and never realized that a bullet pierced his skull. His laughing became distorted as if someone had changed the speed of his audio box. He tried to look around but his movements were slow. He fell sideways against a wall. His eyes rolled back and he tried to say something but his words were slow and mumbled. Slowly his body slid down and his movements ceased. Kakazu never noticed a thing because Sasuke's shot had been clean and killed the man instantly.

"What the fuck was that?" Sasuke said once he took the radios off the two dead bodies and tossed them over the side of the building.

"That was some creepy shit," Naruto said while still looking at Hidan's dead body. "I've never seen anything like that."

"That's because you didn't get a clean shot," Sasuke said with a frown.

"Well, it's not my fault! He was laughing and his head was leaning back then to the side," Naruto said and shook his head. "If I would've known. That was just creepy."

"You said that already," Sasuke snapped. That was going to give him nightmares, he just knew it. For a minute there, he didn't think the man would even die. And that would've been something straight out of horror flick. "It's time to find Tobi."

"You know, this would all be easier if we had backup," Naruto told him sounding annoyed.

"If they were smart, your team would know to look for Deidara and Sasori," Sasuke said and looked at Naruto. "Deidara is the bomb expert and is quick to get away. Sasori is more of a chameleon, he can blend in anywhere. So if they don't get them now, we may never find them."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I did," Sasuke said matter-of-factly. "I specifically said the place was rigged with explosives and that there were eyes in the area. If those two clues weren't enough, then you need smarter people on your troop."

"You knew I was in charge?"

"Why else would I have chosen you as my backup?" Sasuke said with a smirk.

"You know, I heard a lot of rumors about you," Naruto said suddenly sober. Sasuke simply eyed him. "I was proud of what you were able to do out on the front lines. I even heard you went to work directly for the king."

"Hn."

"Then we all found out the king was dead," Naruto said softly.

"You sound sad about that," Sasuke said and tilted his head to the side as he regarded Naruto.

"No, I'm glad. I heard a lot of rumors about Danzo. He wasn't a good person. Gaara didn't trust him either."

"Gaara?"

"The King of the South," Naruto said with a soft smile.

"I know. I'm surprised you call him by his name is all," Sasuke said and shook his head. "Seems like I wasn't the only one to work directly for a king."

Sasuke smirked and Naruto grinned widely. "Have you met the new king? Kakashi said his identity is top secret. That is so fucking awesome!"

"Hn," Sasuke replied and walked around to the other side of the roof where the fuel was located with an amused smile playing on his lips. "Help me out. We need to refuel this bitch."

"Alright!"

* * *

As they were heading West of the conference hall, Sasuke saw a chopper heading in their direction but not close enough for him to have to redirect his course.

"That's one of the choppers that are a part of the naval base," Naruto said and Sasuke had to squint to be able to see the letters on the side of the bird. They didn't become clear until it was much closer. Then simply out of curiosity he kept his eye on the other chopper.

Naruto sucked in a breath. "That's Nagato," he said and stood up on his seat. He moved over to the back and wrapped the straps around his arm to hold on with his left arm.

"Itachi!" Sasuke shouted and Itachi actually turned to look in his direction. It had been a simple coincidence because there was no way he would've heard Sasuke's voice over the sound of both choppers and the distance between them.

"Konan is with them too," Naruto said and Sasuke heard a faint clicking sound. "There's no one else in the chopper. Try to move closer."

Sasuke did as Naruto asked all the while looking at his brother. When they were closer, Sasuke noticed Itachi's soft smile and openly gaped before he swallowed. He lifted his hand up in a wave and Itachi did the same. Then Sasuke heard a shot. Nagato quickly steered the chopper in a different direction after catching sight of Naruto aiming at them and Sasuke lost sight of his brother.

"What did you do?!" Sasuke shrieked and Naruto heard him clearly through his headset.

"I shot a tracker at the bird. We won't know where they'll be after they land, but at least we'll have a general idea of where to start looking," Naruto said and then sat on the chair beside Sasuke. "Did you know them?"

"That was my brother," Sasuke said and looked back to see if he could tell where the chopper had gone but it was already out of sight.

"Wha-" Naruto swallowed and tried again. "He was a dissenter all along?"

"I don't know. Danzo originally planted him as a spy but then my brother stopped all communication," Sasuke told him and shook his head. "Tobi made sure that we never crossed paths. But he said that if this mission was a success he'd arrange a family reunion. That fucking asshole! I'm going to kill him!"

"Do you know where Tobi is?"

"I have a general idea," Sasuke said through gritted teeth. "And if Itachi or the other two didn't inform him I was headed his way with you in tow, then I'll catch him by surprise. But if they let him know, I'll hunt him down!"

Naruto didn't say anything. He simply nodded.

* * *

It didn't take longer than twenty minutes to find Tobi standing atop of the highest skyscraper exactly ten miles west of the conference hall. He was checking his watch in impatience. There was still forty minutes left before the explosions would go off. And Sasuke would have loved to have taken him out from the chopper but unfortunately, Naruto couldn't fly. Not to mention, Naruto wasn't a sniper. So they had two options, jump from the helicopter to the building and let the chopper crash and maybe kill innocent bystanders or land and make their way over by foot.

"If I had my radio, I could've given them the coordinates-"

"We don't even know if the building was evacuated," Sasuke said annoyed. He landed safely on a wide road a some blocks away. "We'll go by foot."

"Uh," Naruto said as he looked around. "Do you remember which building it was?"

"How the fuck did you make it these past three years?" Sasuke said and they both got off the chopper and began their walk. Sasuke didn't see anyone in the vicinity and hoped that meant that the authorities had evacuated the entire area.

"I had my troop. You know, on land. Bombs were fired and then we took everyone else down with these," Naruto gestured to his weapons. "Everything was planned out and executed almost perfectly."

Sasuke looked at him incredulously. But he kept up his pace. "Remind me to let Kakashi know that you're a foot soldier and not to let you be part of an elite operation unit. Especially if an operation requires kill shots and skyscrapers."

Naruto laughed. "Thanks for looking out for me bastard!"

"It's like we took part in two separate wars."

"Hey, you fight your way and I fight mine. When I was out there, I didn't need to be stealthy or hunt my opponents down. I didn't need to ride in helicopters or climb buildings. The elite units had the snipers, bomb experts, and decoys. My job was to follow direct orders. Head to a certain city down to the square block radius then find and kill any enemy troops that the bombs missed. Sometimes I had to slip behind enemy lines but that wasn't so bad. I couldn't take my entire troop. Just me and one other person. Then we'd let the bullets rain down on them. Because if they didn't go down with the first shot, we'd shoot again and again until they were no longer recognizable. It didn't matter. It was ruthless and bloody; it was war. But there were times that we ran out of ammo and I had to take them out with my bare hands. Now those were the fights I enjoyed because a lot of times I could get them to surrender or have a change of heart. And in Gaara's case, accept a truce when I proved he was fighting against the wrong enemy. A gun, bombs, covert operations can't do that. I bet you if everyone had to fight with their bare hands, the war would've ended as soon as it started. Because sometimes you can only understand your enemy when you exchange blows, you know. Peace talks and negotiations can't knock sense into people. But these can." Naruto made a fist and lifted it in the air.

Sasuke was speechless. Now he understood how Naruto had become a hero. A true hero. "We definitely fought two very different wars," Sasuke said and shook his head. "I should've stayed and fought beside you."

"Nah," Naruto said and shook his head. "More people would've died if you hadn't done what you did. That's why there are troops _and_ elite units."

"Hn." Sasuke regarded Naruto for a moment then leaned in and kissed him. "When this war is over. I want us to stay together too."

Naruto felt his face heat up with a blush. His eyes were open wide. Sasuke leaned in and kissed him again. When he stepped back, Naruto was grinning.

"Wipe that smile off your face, idiot," Sasuke said while dragging Naruto into a building from the back entrance. "We need to go up fifty flights of stairs and then kill a certain man."

"If we have to go up fifty flights of stairs by foot, I might be the certain man you'll kill," Naruto said and Sasuke chuckled. "Elevators are brilliant machines. Come, I'll show you the wonders of this technology."

"Bastard."


	12. Together: Present

Sasuke arrived in Frondescence close to midnight. Kakashi had not wanted him to leave the Municipal City and kept throwing more and more paperwork his way. The older man even had a secretary accompany Sasuke on the plane in order for him to look over a few more proposals. Sasuke was tired and all he wanted to do was go back to his apartment and sleep. Lucky for him, as soon as he got off the plane airport security was there waiting for him with a transport cart. They beckoned him to follow and Sasuke complied. Somehow he knew that Kakashi had something to do with that as well. The transport cart stopped beside a black car that looked just like his own. The driver side door opened and a man stepped out to face him.

"Hello," the man said with an eerie smile. Airport security left as soon as Sasuke stepped off the transport cart. He eyed the man curiously.

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked with a slight frown.

"My name is Sai," the man said and smiled. "My mission is to make sure you are secure at all times, King Sasuke."

"Hn." Sasuke simply glared at the man as Sai walked around the vehicle to open the back door for Sasuke. And even though Sasuke knew it wasn't Sai's fault, he couldn't help but feel aggravated about having to put up with a damn babysitter.

"Please, make yourself comfortable," Sai said as he gestured to the interior of the vehicle.

"Is this my car?" Sasuke asked without making a move to get inside.

"Why, yes it is," Sai said easily. Sasuke held out his hand and Sai shook it.

"No, idiot. Give me my keys," Sasuke said and wiggled his fingers impatiently.

"But I was told that I had to drive you," Sai said and opened his eyes fully for the first time as he regarded Sasuke with an almost vacant stare. Sasuke dropped his hand in annoyance.

"What else are you _supposed_ to do? Wipe my ass when I take a shit," Sasuke said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes.

"That wasn't in the job description. But if you want me to do that, I can't refuse my King," Sai said with a slight bow. The car door slamming shut made Sai look up with a surprised expression. "Did I just offend him? I might need to ask Kakashi."

Sai decided to think about that later and rounded the car to get into the driver seat. They drove to the apartment building in silence. When they arrived, Sai walked Sasuke to his door.

"Why did you follow me? Are you planning to sleep with me or something?" Sasuke said irritably.

"No," Sai said easily without taking notice of Sasuke's mood. "I was simply trying to be courteous. I read in a book that if you walk your date to the door it's a show of good manners." Sasuke openly gawked at him. But Sai didn't notice. He simply reached into his pocket to pull out the car keys. He handed them over and gave a slight bow. "I'm head of your security team. You shouldn't see me again until you decide to return to the Municipal City. I'll keep watch from the shadows. But if you need me, all you have to do is call out my name. Have a good night, King Sasuke."

Sasuke shook his head in disbelief. Of all the people, Kakashi had to pick that guy.

The following morning, Sasuke headed over to Naruto's apartment. He knew it was almost time for Naruto to walk Asashi to school and he wanted to catch them before they left. He knocked just for appearance sake then walked in. Asashi was sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal that was spilling over. He was still clad in pajamas and his hair was unruly. As soon as the boy heard the telltale sign of the front door opening and closing, he rushed out to the living room to greet the newcomer.

"Sasuke!" Asashi said and leaped into Sasuke's awaiting arms. "You're back!"

Sasuke smiled at him and ruffled Asashi's hair but in the back of his mind, he was a bit annoyed. Asashi had cereal running down his chin and had a goatee made entirely of milk. Sasuke's shirt already ruined with milk and cereal, he decided to use his sleeve to wipe Asashi's face.  
"You're a mess," Sasuke said and the boy grinned. "Aren't you going to school?"

"Yeah! I was just going to get ready after breakfast!"

"Well, at least you're energetic," Sasuke said with a slight frown. He put the boy down and eyed the kitchen suspiciously. "Have you only been eating cereal?"

"Cereal is great!"

"Yeah, wonderful," Sasuke said and decided to take a look in Naruto's room. "Hurry up and then take a bath. I'll walk you to school when you're finished getting ready."

"Okay!"

Sasuke began to unbutton his shirt as he walked into Naruto's bedroom. He figured he'd just borrow a shirt for the time being. When he walked in, Naruto was still asleep. Sasuke frowned slightly. What the hell is going on?

"Naruto," Sasuke said as he peered into the closet and found a plain black tee to wear. He put it on and turned towards the bed. "Naruto, wake up."

"Too early," Naruto mumbled.

"Idiot! Get up! Your son has to go to school," Sasuke said and walked out of the room when he saw Naruto sit up in bed.

"He has the week off," Naruto said and yawned as he leaned against the bathroom door while Sasuke was adjusting the water for the bath.

"He told me he was going to school," Sasuke said as he looked at Naruto with a bit more attention. Naruto had bags under his eyes and they were rimmed red as if he'd cried himself to sleep. "What's the matter?"

"Hum?" Naruto said and rubbed a hand over his face. He walked to the sink and splashed some water over his face.

"What's going on, Naruto? Why do you look like shit?" Sasuke said and added soap to the water. In the background, the sound of Asashi dumping his bowl into the sink was heard. The spoon clattered to the floor followed by a splash of what was most likely milk.

"Oopsie!"

"Asashi, come here," Sasuke said and turned off the water. The little boy ran into the bathroom past his father and began to strip. Sasuke caught his arms and helped him. "Slow down. There's no rush. Apparently, you don't have school this week."

"Oh, yeah!" Asashi said. "I forgot. Heh, heh. Two weeks to watch cartoons and eat cereal and…"

"No, no more cereal," Sasuke said cutting him off. "Too much sugar is bad for you."

"Aw, but…" Asashi began to sniffle.

"None of that," Sasuke said and lifted the boy up and placed him in the bath. "I'll be back in a minute."

Sasuke walked into the kitchen and began to clean up. Naruto followed automatically and sat at the table.

"Hinata...she's gotten worse," Naruto said and rubbed his hands over his face again. "The only thing keeping her alive at this point is her own will."

Sasuke didn't reply. He looked over at Naruto, though, pausing his movements so that Naruto knew he had his attention. What could he say? It wasn't anything that shouldn't have been expected. But, what about the baby? Was the baby going to make it even if Hinata didn't? Because the baby was the point of all of this, wasn't it? Hinata cared more about having a baby than her own life. The fact that she knew ahead of time that it wouldn't last very long was a depressing thought.

Sasuke and Naruto had fought a war for three years and survived. Actually, more than survived. Sasuke had taken Danzo out of the equation but together they beheaded what the world perceived to be the greatest threat; the leader of the Akatsuki. The visible war came to end but a silent war waged on. One that only Sasuke and few others partook in. Six years later, Sasuke found Naruto again but the silent war wasn't over. Not for Naruto. He was a part of one all of his own. Separate from Hinata's. The only true victor would be the baby girl and only if she survived it. She would, though. Of that Sasuke was sure. If that baby had a strong will like Hinata's and the tenacity to survive that Naruto did, then she would most certainly come out victorious. And she would have a proud father and a doting brother as her reward.

Naruto sat quietly until Asashi called out for a towel. And suddenly the world began to rotate on its own axis once more. When had it stopped? Sasuke felt guilty for not being able to come up with any words of comfort. All the angst Naruto was dispelling was affecting him in weird ways. He decided to wash the dishes just to keep busy. Then he began to pull out a few things out of the fridge. He suddenly felt hungry and cereal wasn't going to cut it. Something quick and simple would do.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked when he shuffled back into the living room. Sasuke pulled a face.

"Take a shower," Sasuke said with a wave of his hand so that Naruto would leave the kitchen. He didn't want Naruto to spread his gloominess onto him. "When you come back out, we're going to eat."

"Yeah, alright," Naruto said with as much enthusiasm as a sloth.

"Tch," Sasuke complained but didn't bother to say anything.

The sounds of the cartoons were blaring through the apartment when Naruto came out of the shower feeling refreshed. He plopped next to Asashi and held him tight. It was then that the smell of food hit Naruto's nostrils and his stomach growled.

"Daddy! You're hungry!"

"Yeah, I guess I am," Naruto said and with hurried steps went into the kitchen. "Hey, what'd ya make?"

"Stirfry," Sasuke said simply and pointed to the table. He placed two plates down and sat down. "Sit. Eat."

"Yessir!" Naruto dove into his food with gusto. "Hey, do you have to go to work today?"

"Probably," Sasuke said and thought about it. He looked over at Asashi and then glanced at Naruto. "I can work from my laptop, though."

"Yeah?" Naruto said with a smile. "Cause at noon I was going to take Asashi to the hospital so that we could have lunch with Hinata. Then after dinner, I was going to go over and stay with her until Asashi's bedtime. But Neji and Hanabi are busy with work and they have errands so they can't watch him every night-"

"I'll stay here with him if you'd like," Sasuke said cutting Naruto off.

"Yeah, really?" Naruto said eagerly. Sasuke nodded with a small smile playing on his lips. "Sasuke, thanks! I really appreciate the help. Do you wanna go with us to lunch?"

"No," Sasuke said a little too quickly and took another bite of food. Naruto's face fell. "I have to make a few calls since I'm not going to be going to the base all week."

"Oh," Naruto said sounding relieved. Sasuke wasn't sure why. "Okay."

When they finished eating, Sasuke cleaned up and went to the door. He opened it slightly and called out, "Sai." Then he sat down on the chair pulling the coffee table towards him. Naruto stared at him curiously and gaped at the door when Sai walked in.

"You called, King Sasuke," Sai said and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Will you stop calling me that," Sasuke said annoyed.

Sai looked from Sasuke to Naruto and nodded. "My apologies, sir."

"Whatever," Sasuke said with a wave of his hand. "I need my laptop and whatever documents Kakashi faxed over this morning to the base. I won't be going in so I need you to fetch them."

Sai didn't respond. He simply nodded and walked out.

"Who the heck was that? And why did he call you, King Sasuke?" Naruto said with rounded eyes the size of saucers. Sasuke simply stared at him, debating whether or not to tell him or to at least give him a hint.

"Here you are, sir," Sai said placing a laptop on the coffee table and lifting the top to the height of a desk.

Naruto gasped and pointed, his mouth opening and closing without sound. He had no idea his coffee table could do that guy just kept appearing as if from thin air.

"The documents that were faxed will be delivered in about ten minutes."

"Hn."

Sai walked out and this time shut the door behind him.

"What the heck?"

"Stop freaking out," Sasuke told him and powered on his laptop. "He works for me."

"Since when?" Naruto asked still shocked about the whole experience.

Sasuke shrugged. Since he killed Danzo? Since he accepted that he _was_ the King? Since he returned to Frondescence? Sasuke wasn't sure.

"What are you working on anyway?" Naruto said and tried to take a peek at the laptop screen.

"I'm reading emails," Sasuke said with a sigh. "Do you want me to work here or should I go back to my apartment?"

"Uh, sorry," Naruto said sheepishly and sat back on the sofa to give Sasuke his space. "I just didn't know what you did. And I've been placed on leave and I think this time it will be longer than the last."

"You have a family, Naruto. That's your priority," Sasuke told him looking at him in the eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Naruto said and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Wait until the baby is at least two before you decide what you want to do," Sasuke said and then turned back to the screen before him.

"Uh, yeah," Naruto said with a nervous smile and then turned his attention to his son.

That week seemed to go by smoothly. Sasuke would make breakfast and then start working either in the living room or at the kitchen table. At noon, Naruto and Asashi went to the hospital to have lunch with Hinata. Upon their return, they'd head to Sasuke's place where they'd find Sai tending to Sasuke or delivering more documents. Sometimes he was shredding papers, other times he was faxing, and the majority of the time he was murmuring to himself. But Naruto knew that he was speaking to someone on his Bluetooth in-ear headset.

Day by day, Naruto became more curious to know who Sai was but didn't ask. He knew Sasuke wouldn't say much more to him than he already had. So what did Sasuke do anyways? Was he really that important in the military to have his own assistant? And if he was that important, how was it possible that he could work from home? Naruto didn't dare ask. His curiosity was eating at him but at least, it was distracting him from dreading Hinata's condition.

It wasn't until after dinner when Naruto would head out to spend a few hours alone with Hinata that the anxiety and fear kicked in but he quelled it so that it wouldn't affect Hinata or the baby. For a few hours, Naruto spoke about anything that came to his mind. Because he knew that Hinata was too weak to stay awake for the entire visit and that the only ears that were truly listening to him were that of his unborn child. He didn't care that his jaw hurt or that his face felt stretched out because he laughed and smiled so much for his daughter by the end of the visit.

When Naruto returned, Sasuke was always waiting for him and the three boys headed over to Naruto's place. Naruto would get Asashi ready for bed and then he'd spend some time with Sasuke. They didn't whisper sweet nothings into each other's ear but Naruto did feel comforted at Sasuke's side. Whether it be that he used Sasuke's shoulder while his hair was caressed or they made out with slow cautious movements of tongue and lips or they simply had a cup of coffee and argued about which late-night program to watch, it all helped him unwind from an emotional filled day.

One day at a time.

It was the best advice Naruto had heard. And without Sasuke, he didn't know what he would do.

But Sasuke had qualms of his own. He kept putting off an important conversation. He needed to tell Naruto that he would return to the Municipal City to finally accept his place on the throne. But a little voice in the back of his mind told him that he didn't want that. That he should stay with Naruto so that they could keep up whatever this was that they had. Sasuke wanted more. He wanted Naruto to be his. He wanted a relationship. He would even sacrifice the throne for Naruto so long as they stayed together. But, at the same time, he knew that was wrong. This whole charade was coming to an end. Kakashi had given him a few weeks. A few weeks. An undefinable length of time that was becoming more and more defined each passing day.  
One day at a time.

It was fucking torture. Why would Sasuke think that seeing his situation that way would help when those days were numbered? He had to say something but he wanted to wait for the right time. Yet, the right time would only come the following day.

Tomorrow.

How many tomorrows did he have left before Kakashi or Itachi showed up to drag him away?

* * *

"I have a little sister! I'm going to be the best big brother in the world!" little Asashi was saying while he was riding up the hospital elevator with Sasuke to meet his baby sister. Asashi had been going on and on about his sister from the moment he woke up and Sasuke told him where his dad was. He instantly regretted it. He had already searched Asashi to see if he might have an off switch but when he couldn't find one and the mute button on the remote didn't seem to work, he gave up and let the boy ramble without interruption.

Naruto had called Sasuke at two in the morning and asked him to babysit for him because he had to rush to the hospital. Hinata had gone into labor prematurely. Her planned delivery was a week away but since she was already in labor she decided to have the baby naturally. The doctors were worried and so was her father who called Naruto so that maybe he could talk some sense into Hinata. As soon as Naruto saw Hinata, he knew that there was no way he could even try to voice an opinion that differed from her own. If she was going to die giving birth to that child then he wouldn't have it be any other way. He couldn't take that experience from her when she glowed with love and happiness over the unborn child.

Naruto sat in the nursery, feeding his baby girl through an opening in the incubator. She was so tiny that Naruto felt his heart tighten just seeing her. She looked so fragile but she was strong. She was as strong as Hinata. Naruto smiled while the baby sucked half-heartedly. The bottle was so small yet his baby girl would become exhausted three-quarters of the way and her suckling would lose force. Although, she wouldn't actually let go of the nipple until the very last drop. That made Naruto laugh, she had a bit of him in her as well. He placed the bottle to the side and caressed his daughter's head as softly as he could with his gloved hand before he pulled it out and sealed the incubator. He watched her breathe for a moment before a nurse lead him out of the nursery. They would call him back for the next feeding.

"Daddy!" Asashi shouted as soon as he saw his dad come out of the nursery. "Daddy, daddy! Where's my little sister?! I want to see my little sister!"

Naruto grinned at his son and picked him up to embraced him.

"Look, she's right there!" Naruto told him having him face the nursery through the window. Asashi wasn't going to be allowed in but he would at least be able to see his sister. Naruto gestured to one of the nurses and she pushed the baby closer to the window.

"She's tiny! She's so tiny!" Asashi was saying when he got a closer look. But he had such a wide grin on his face. Naruto nodded and looked on with a pained face.

"How is she?" Sasuke ventured to ask.

"Oh, Sasuke! Hey, thanks for watching Asashi…" Naruto trailed off and cleared his throat. Sasuke nodded with a soft smile. "She's actually doing well regardless, but she's going to have to stay for awhile. Maybe a month. She hadn't quite reached…" Naruto swallowed hard and tightened his hold on Asashi who was still talking about his sister. Asashi was so wrapped up in his own world that he didn't pay attention to what his father was saying. "I haven't been able to hold her since she was born."

"She'll be home before you know it," Sasuke said and wanted to bite his tongue. Whose home would she go to? Naruto's or Hinata's? He was too scared to ask if Hinata was okay.

"Yeah, you're right…" Naruto said weakly and attempted to smile.

"Daddy! Daddy! What's my sister's name?" Asashi said loudly turning to face Naruto.

"Well, I wanted your mom to decide…" Naruto said and looked away down the hall. Sasuke assumed that was the direction Hinata was in. A feeling of dread washed over him and he didn't want to know.

"Mommy wanted to name her Sayuri!" Asashi said happily and Naruto smiled at his son ruffling his hair.

"That's right, how could I forget?! Thanks, Asashi," Naruto said happily and sighed in relief. When the nurse asked him what name they'd decided for the baby, he blanked out. He couldn't remember the name they had agreed on. Hinata passed out a few minutes after giving birth, she had been so weak and Naruto had been so distraught that he couldn't remember.

"Naruto!" A deep voice resounded from down the hall.

"Grandpa! Did you see my baby sister Sayuri!" Asashi said and wiggled out of his dad's arms rushing to his grandfather's side.

"I did see her, Asashi. I'm so glad you're here. Mommy was asking about you and Sayuri," Hiashi said and took his grandson's hand in his. He looked at Naruto pointedly. "I'll stay here if you wish, she wants to talk to you."

"Y-yeah, of course," Naruto said almost breathlessly. Hiashi squeezed his shoulder and Naruto gave him a grateful glance before he walked off.

Once Naruto was out of hearing range, Sasuke turned to Hiashi and said, "How is Hinata, sir?"

"She gave us quite a scare but she's awake now and currently stable," Hiashi said and ran a shaky hand through his hair. Asashi had let go of his grandpa and stood by the window to stare at his sister again. He stood on his tippy toes to get a better look. Hiashi looked at his grandson and sighed. "When Hinata first found out she was sick, she embodied her mother's spirit," Hiashi said and ran a frustrated hand across his face. "Her mother died while giving birth to my second daughter. I regret ever telling Hinata that her mother died happily because she used the last of her strength to give her a sister. Hinata has the same condition her mother did, it slowly ate away at her. Hinata doesn't remember her mother when she was healthy. She only remembers the weak version of her mother. And even then, I couldn't talk her mother out of having a second child. She was adamant about giving Hinata a sibling. Just as adamant as Hinata was about having her first child after she found out she was sick. She told me that if her mother was strong enough to bear a child she could too."

Sasuke looked at Hiashi surprised. He didn't know any of this. Naruto didn't talk much about his relationship with Hinata or Hinata herself. He would only speak about her pregnancy and her interactions with Asashi. He had no idea that Hinata had been sick since before Asashi.

"Hinata doesn't seem to understand the amount of stress and just utter turmoil she's placed on Naruto's shoulders. Watching him suffer, I regret not letting her have a baby the way she wanted in the first place. She was going to go to a sperm bank and I couldn't stomach having a stranger father her child. I told her I would only support her wish to have a child if she was married. I only said it to stall her and hoped it would make her change her mind. Instead, she became so depressed and stopped eating that I almost lost her. She was in a coma for over a month and the doctors were telling me that she wasn't going to make it. I expressed my regrets about that conversation to my nephew and Hanabi in the hospital lobby unaware that Naruto had been listening. When Hinata finally came out of the coma and was sent home stronger than before, Naruto came over to my house and asked for her hand in marriage. I knew he loved Hinata...but he has never been in love with her. I tried to talk him out of it and told him from personal experience how difficult it would be to raise a child alone. But Naruto wouldn't hear me out. He said he had always wanted a family and that he wanted to make the last days of my daughter's life as happy as possible. What do you say to that? How could I deny either of them what they wanted? I couldn't risk losing my daughter."

"You did the right thing," Sasuke said, voice thick with emotion. "No matter how hard it is for Naruto right now, in the long run, it will all be worth it. Asashi is the happiest kid I've ever met and I imagine that little Sayuri will be too. They will cherish every moment they had beside their mother. Naruto and you too, sir, will be there to make sure they never forget how much Hinata loves them when the time comes. Right now, you have grandchildren to spoil and they will love you all the more for it."

Hiashi wiped his eyes and chuckled at Sasuke's words. He felt a weight lifted off his shoulders after hearing that. Because he knew deep down that Hinata was happy just as his wife had been knowing she would leave a part of herself behind. Hinata had made sure that her father wouldn't be left all alone. Hiashi had two more pieces of his wife that shared her strength, courage, and love for life just as Hinata did. He was so happy that Hinata was able to meet her daughter and he hoped that she would be able to enjoy her for as long as possible. Hiashi reached over to squeeze Sasuke's shoulder and smiled at him.

"Naruto is fortunate to have a friend like you. I'm grateful to you for being with him during this time and that you've been helping him with Asashi. I don't know if either of us could ever repay your kindness. And to be honest, I don't think I had ever seen Naruto as happy as he has been lately. Even with all this going on, he can still smile and I have a feeling that it is all because of you, my friend," Hiashi said and stepped closer to his grandson ruffling his hair before picking him up. He asked him if he wanted to see his mommy but Asashi refused. He said he wanted to be by his sister a little longer.

Sasuke stood there speechless. He had no idea what to make of Hiashi's words. He had met the man before when he was younger and had thought Hiashi was a bit callous, especially towards Hinata. But it seemed he had wrongly judged the man and Hinata too for that matter. He now had a newfound respect for her and finally understood Naruto's situation a little more. Naruto had always been the type to do anything for his friends. Sasuke shouldn't have put it past him to go so far as to cross a few items off of Hinata's bucket list. Sasuke sighed and couldn't help the silent prayer he said for the woman. Sasuke asked for Hinata's mother to give her a little more strength so that she could be there for Sayuri a little longer. Naruto deserved to have his family as long as possible.

From the corner of his eye Sasuke saw Neji and Hanabi walking towards them and suddenly he felt out of place. This was Naruto's family and he needed to leave Naruto with them. Besides, he had something much bigger than a family that he needed to take responsibility for. Sasuke slipped into the shadows and waited for a beat before he decided it was time to leave. It was time that he took his place as the rightful King.

Sasuke didn't take more than a few steps towards the elevator doors before a gut-wrenching shout was heard. His entire body tensed and his fingers began to tremble. He squeezed his eyes tight forcing the sting in the back of his eyes to recede.

"Daddy?" Asashi said in a broken voice from behind him.

The happy chatter the boy had filled the hall with had vanished. Instead, the air around the family became thick and threatened to choke them.

A loud bang and hurried steps that carried a body towards the noise to investigate were heard.

In all the commotion - hushed whispers from an uncle to quiet down and sniffling boy, the rushing of nurses and doctors to stop the incessant beeping of annoying machines that were signaling the end of someone's life, the soft sobs that belonged to a father and sister, the sudden utter silence from Naruto that seemed to announce all his pain - Sasuke didn't move an inch.

"Sasu-ke," a broken voice said from behind him. And it was all it took for Sasuke to finally turn around and head towards Naruto. Tears were streaming down Naruto's face and his eyes reflected a horrible anguish. "Don't leave me."

Sasuke quickened his steps and wrapped his arms around Naruto. A sob broke free from Naruto and Sasuke tightened his grip. "I'm here, Naruto. I'm right here."

"It was my fault," Naruto said so softly that Sasuke thought he heard wrong. "The pregnancy...she could've lived longer...I thought I was making her happy. How could she be happy if she's dead? It was my fault."

"No!" Sasuke said and pushed Naruto away from his body so that he could look Naruto in his eyes. "Naruto, look at me!" Naruto looked at him through glazed eyes. Sasuke grabbed hold of his chin tightly. "She knew what she was doing. She just didn't know what she was doing to you." Naruto shook his head. "It's not your fault."

"I wanted a family," Naruto said and more tears streamed down his face. "I was selfish. I sacrificed her health for a family."

" _She_ sacrificed herself to give you two beautiful children," Sasuke said in a voice that didn't leave room for argument. Naruto blinked and stared at Sasuke as if he had just remembered that it was what Hinata wanted as well. "She was happy. You made her happy."

Naruto nodded and wiped his face. "How can I be happy that I have my daughter when she...she…?"

"Because that's what Hinata wanted," Sasuke said and cupped the back of Naruto's head. He brought them closer together and hugged Naruto tightly. "She didn't want you to mourn her death. She wanted you to celebrate a new life with your son. But you know what?"

Naruto shook his head.

"It's okay to be sad and happy at the same time," Sasuke told him and closed his eyes. "To say goodbye to one life in tears and greet a new one…"

Sasuke didn't finish saying whatever it was he was trying to say because he knew he wasn't talking about Naruto's situation anymore. He was talking about his own predicament.

"You're right," Naruto said and took a step back. He wiped his tears away with his arms and smiled at Sasuke. "Thank you. I needed to hear that."

"Daddy?" Asashi said from down the hall. Naruto turned around to look at his son. A pained expression crossed his features before he walked towards the young boy. In passing, Naruto took hold of Sasuke's hand and they walked towards Asashi together.


	13. Unreal: Past

Sasuke and Naruto had made their way towards the East. They had been following a signal from the tracker that Naruto had attached to the helicopter Itachi and Nagato were in before they faced Obito. They ended up in Narrow Straight, a quadrant that was located along the coast of the North Sea. Nagato's helicopter was abandoned and once again, there was not a trace of Itachi. Sasuke would've been frustrated but he had other things on his mind. Mainly Naruto.

The quadrant was beautiful when the sun was out but the weather was unforgiving. Rainclouds would roll in and a storm would ensue. The strong rain and wind forced Sasuke and Naruto to give up their search and remain indoors. It happened so often that they opted to stay in their hotel suite. The majority of the time they spent in bed while they got to know each other more intimately. Time escaped the two until they eventually forgot what they were doing in Narrow Straight, to begin with.

Neither of them had maintained contact with their superiors nor had they attempted to contact their comrades before they went after Nagato and Itachi. They simply absconded in their attempt to track the signal. Their comrades feared the worse but the King of the South and the Regent of the North did not stop searching for the pair. But it was Sasuke's old team, Suigetsu, Jugo, and Karin, that made the most headway.

The trio made contact with Kakashi to inform him of where Sasuke would most likely be located. Kakashi sent the three to the east with the permission of the King of the East and had them launch a full out reconnaissance mission. When the pair was found isolated in a hotel, Gaara and Kakashi personally went to the room to retrieve them and debrief them on the current situation. The reconnaissance team had done a thorough enough job that both Gaara and Kakashi were aware that the two were basically taking a much-needed vacation. Although the nature of their relationship was only hinted upon, it was enough for Kakashi and Gaara to know what they would be walking into.

Sasuke and Naruto's downtime was officially over. There were pressing matters to attend and the only ones to get the respective jobs done were Naruto and Sasuke. That was why at fifteen past seven one fine morning, Kakashi and Gaara barged into the pair's hotel room unabashedly.

Sasuke was awake and sitting up in bed. Naruto was asleep beside him, arms wrapped around Sasuke's waist.

Sasuke's hand stopped moving over blond locks when he heard the entry door of the suite open and two sets of footsteps approaching the bedroom from the adjoining living room. He reached for his weapon that he kept next to the bed and pointed it at the doorway at the same time that he pushed Naruto hard enough that he rolled off the bed and onto the floor with a loud thud.

At the sound of the noise, both Gaara and Kakashi glanced at one another and decided to enter the room quickly but cautiously.

"Ow, ow, ow," Naruto complained and was about to sit up.

"Stay down!" Sasuke told him quickly and positioned himself in a way that he would block Naruto from view while he held the gun up and pointed towards the door.

When the door opened, Sasuke frowned but didn't lower his weapon.

Standing there were Gaara and Kakashi. Gaara simply stared unblinkingly then looked around the room to find the source of the noise they had heard.

Kakashi waved lazily at Sasuke and smiled.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked with an irritated tone.

"Can I get up now?" Naruto asked and peeked from behind the mattress.

"Is that really any way to greet me, Sasuke?" Kakashi said in a bored tone. He threw a pair of pants at Sasuke who caught them easily with his free hand and then glared at Kakashi. "Vacation's over. We need to talk."

"Now?" Sasuke asked and actually pouted.

Kakashi's smile became more prominent when he saw Sasuke finally put down his weapon.

"We could come back later, in say, a couple of seconds so that you can kiss your lover goodbye. But we really don't have the time," Kakashi told him with a shrug.

"Tch!" Sasuke complained and put on the pants that were given to him.

"What the hell is going on? Why is that guy here? And why did you come with him, Gaara?" Naruto said standing up and flailed his arms in an irritated fashion.

"As was previously stated, your self-imposed vacation is over," Gaara said casually. "Take a shower, we'll be leaving as soon as possible. You have a job to do."

"What?!"

"Naruto," Sasuke said glancing over at him. "Take a shower. But before you leave we have a few things to talk about."

"Yeah, okay," Naruto said and eyed Kakashi suspiciously.

Naruto knew who the man was. In the past, he had heard the news of the general's new position and seen him in a few photos. But hadn't met him in person since he had spent the end of the war in the South under Gaara's command. That was until recently when Kakashi had called Gaara in with Shikamaru and Naruto in tow. It was because of the last mission Kakashi had assigned him and his team that Naruto was able to reunite with Sasuke. This time, however, Kakashi's presence signified that they would be forced to say their farewells.

"Gaara, how is everyone? Shikamaru and them, you know?"

"They're well," Gaara said simply. "I'll fill you in on the details on the way."

"Alright, fine," Naruto said with a sigh. He grabbed a change of clothes and went into the bathroom.

Sasuke went into the living room. Kakashi and Gaara followed closing the bedroom door for added privacy.

"What's this about?" Sasuke said as he prepared himself a coffee.

"Straight and to the point as always," Kakashi said and sighed. "Besides the fact that we believed the two of you were taken hostage by the remaining members of Akatsuki, there's a problem that needs your immediate attention."

"Why mine?" Sasuke said with a raised eyebrow giving Kakashi a pointed look.

"No worries, Gaara is well aware that you are the King of the North," Kakashi said and ignored Sasuke's heated glare. "However, we need to keep that information under wraps. The only reason we found you, was because Orochimaru wanted you found."

"Orochimaru?" Sasuke said curiously.

Sasuke poured himself a cup of coffee and didn't bother to offer any to the other two. Instead, he took his cup and sat comfortably on the sofa, resting his right ankle over his left knee.

"He was once a member of Akatsuki but abandoned them before the war was declared. But now that the war is over, his underling, Kabuto Yakushi, has been busy gathering people," Kakashi said and Sasuke looked at him while taking a sip of coffee. "He made contact with your operation unit. Orochimaru wants you on his side. You were a known member of Akatsuki but no one really knows that the leader died by your and Naruto's hand. Since you disappeared, there is no record of who actually took him down. And then there's the separate issue of the three — not including you and your previously missing team — members that have gone under the radar.

"Your little escape trick made Orochimaru believe that you do not care to pledge your loyalty to any kingdom and that you are currently in hiding from the military. It was your operation unit that found you and is currently waiting for you before they make Orochimaru's offer to you. They only came to me so that I could help them get into the East. They are unsure whether or not you are a deserter so they took their chances in siding with the military and not Orochimaru to find you. Their allegiance, however, seems to be to you. If you refuse Orochimaru, they will as well. But we need you to take his offer and infiltrate his organization."

"You want me to go undercover again," Sasuke said with a sigh. He placed his cup on the coffee table in front of him, leaned forward, and ran a hand over his face and hair. "What about, Naruto?" He looked at Gaara. "You said you had a job for him."

Just then, Naruto walked into the living room and sat down next to Sasuke.

"Yeah, what were you talking about Gaara?" Naruto said and all three sets of eyes turned to look at him.

None of them were certain about how much of what was previously said Naruto heard, but they decided to ignore the chance that he heard something he shouldn't have unless Naruto brought it up.

"We received a tip that numerous explosives were being moved underground," Gaara said with a serious expression. "We believe that the people responsible for this are the last remaining members of Akatsuki."

"Your brother?" Naruto said having quickly turned to look at Sasuke.

Sasuke, however, was staring at Kakashi with a look of disbelief.

"Is it true?"

Kakashi simply nodded.

"We followed them here but I lost their trace," Sasuke said and tightened his fists over his thighs.

Kakashi looked to Gaara who nodded.

"We don't know all the details but it appears as if Nagato is in charge," Gaara said and paused. "He goes by the name Pain."

"What the hell kind of name is that?" Naruto asked suddenly.

"I don't know. What we do know is where the shipments of explosives are heading and we need you to intercept them," Gaara told him and Naruto's eyes widened.

"Why me?"

"Because you're unpredictable and have the knack of sneaking up on opponents," Gaara said and Naruto nodded. "Plus the details are too obscure for a normal team. We don't have time to analyze the situation and come up with a plan of action. Especially when we are looking at around a two-hour window to finding out the date and time the shipment will be moved. Our contact has to cut it close so that he isn't found out. Shikamaru and Temari are frustrated and have asked for you tirelessly."

"Alright...I'm in," Naruto said but sounded resigned.

"What about your mission, Sasuke? Do you accept?" Kakashi said with a hopeful expression.

"As if I have a choice," Sasuke said annoyed.

"Alright, we'll give you a couple of minutes to say your goodbyes," Kakashi said and headed towards the door. "Your operation team will be waiting in the lobby."

"Naruto, I'll see you outside," Gaara said and they both walked out.

Naruto waited for the door to close before he faced Sasuke.

"You have a mission?"

"Yeah, it's a long term one. Undercover," Sasuke said and then smirked. "So don't shoot me if you happen to come across me."

"Did I shoot you last time?" Naruto asked annoyed.

"No, but that's only because I didn't leave myself open," Sasuke said teasingly.

Naruto scoffed.

"I won't make that mistake again. I probably won't be able to either. Not with the company I'll be keeping."

"Hmm, I see," Naruto said and scratched his cheek. "So, I'll just have to wait for you then."

"Are you sure you can do that? It may be a very," Sasuke leaned forward to kiss Naruto, "very, long time." His gentle kiss became more urgent. Naruto quickly straddled Sasuke. "Mmm, you smell good." Sasuke took another whiff of Naruto's neck and then began to taste his skin.

"Ah, bastard, I don't think we have time to fool around, you know," Naruto told him and grabbed Sasuke's face so that he could look at the other for a moment.

"I know," Sasuke said and leaned his face forward until their foreheads were touching. "I really hope you can wait for me Naruto because the time apart will feel so unbearable that I'll probably want to ravage you as soon as you're within my grasp."

"I'll wait for you bastard," Naruto said and hugged Sasuke tightly. "It's a promise. Just promise me that you won't die."

"As if anyone could kill me," Sasuke teased and Naruto snorted. "Stay safe, Naruto."

"I will," Naruto said and leaned back so that he could look at Sasuke once again.

Naruto traced his fingers down from Sasuke's temples to his jaw and leaned in for another kiss. When they broke apart he smiled albeit with teary eyes.

"I'm quick on my feet, you know. I can get in and out so fast—"

"I know," Sasuke cut in with a nasal laugh.

"Shut up, bastard!"

"Naruto, I'll come back to you as soon as I can," Sasuke said sincerely and stood up, leaving Naruto on his feet. "People are waiting for us and I need you to leave first. Just in case."

"Yeah, I get it," Naruto said with a heavy sigh.

Naruto quickly hugged Sasuke once more and left the room, having only taken his wallet and phone. He had arrived without any clothes anyway and what little clothes he had acquired there wasn't worth keeping. He paused in the hallway and looked back at the door, a single tear running down his face before he wiped it away. Then with new resolve, he quickened his steps to the stairs and made his way out the back where he found Gaara waiting for him. They nodded to each other and walked off leaving the hotel behind them.

Sasuke took out his frustration on the furniture in the room. It wasn't until he tired himself out that he finally showered. He got ready and left everything behind as well. There wasn't anything of value there. Just a few changes of clothes. He had arrived with his handgun, all his other equipment had been left in the chopper they had arrived in. A gentleman kept it in storage for him and had been paid handsomely in advanced. Since the chopper was stolen in a different country, he doubted anyone would come looking for it in the East in an old warehouse. So once Sasuke met up with his old team in the lobby of the hotel, the four of them headed towards the aircraft.

Karin was the one who asked what they were going to do and what Kakashi had told him.

Sasuke answered with a vague, "Doesn't matter."

Suigetsu and Jugo weren't bothered by it but Karin was a bundle of nerves.

So Sasuke turned to her and asked before he turned on the chopper, "What do you want to do? Do you want to be confined to the North?"

Karin looked to Suigetsu who in turn blurted out Orochimaru's proposal and said that they should ditch the North. He told him that it was the only way the three of them could work directly for Sasuke and not be tied down to the North's regulations.

Jugo and Karin nodded in agreement and Sasuke realized that what Kakashi had said was true, they were loyal to him and not necessarily Orochimaru.

"Alright, let's do that then," Sasuke said with a slight nod.

"Really? I mean, we did our fair share of things to get into the Akatsuki but it was with the blessing of the military. This time, it will be us against them," Suigetsu said with a weird gleam in his eyes.

"Like I care," Sasuke said and looked at each of them in turn. "However, I do plan on getting rid of Orochimaru as soon as possible. Any of you have objections to that?"

"No way, man!" Suigetsu piped in. "After all those experiments he did on us. He deserves to die. But he's scary and we would rather not anger him further. He wanted us to convince you to go to him willingly. And well, it's hard for us to go against his orders."

"Well, then," Sasuke said once he saw that Karin and Jugo agreed with Suigetsu. "It's a good thing I'm going to him them. Soon, you'll no longer have to worry about him."

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Suigetsu said with a huge grin.

Jugo and Karin smiled brightly as well.

"Man, if it was anyone but you saying that I wouldn't believe them!"

"Hn."

It was easier said than done. It took Sasuke three years to finally rid the world of Orochimaru and his second in command, Kabuto. But Sasuke didn't stop there. He took over Orochimaru's organization as the head with Suigetsu, Jugo, and Karin helping him every step of the way. They slowly disbanded the organization allowing Orochimaru's old contacts and allies to be taken into custody by the military. Sasuke had to be careful so that those he dealt with wouldn't suspect him as the mole to their meetings and underground deals.

As soon as they had joined Orochimaru, Sasuke and his three companions were known as traitors to the throne of the North as well as international criminals. Sasuke came close to being caught on numerous occasions during military raids that he himself had tipped off — ironically. But he always escaped sometimes with minor injuries and a couple of times he had a brush with death.

Sasuke often wondered what would happen if he ran into Naruto. But Sasuke never did see him and thought that maybe Kakashi was the reason behind it. He also came to the assumption that Naruto would still be under the command of the King of the South. There really was no way for Sasuke to find out without blowing his cover. So in the following years, Sasuke kept his head down and was forced to fight against Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji, and on occasion even Sakura. But luckily he kept those encounters extremely short and always found a way to escape without having to hurt his old friends who he found out resented him for abandoning them in order to become a criminal.

Sasuke made sure to stay up to date with the world news but mostly those that affected the North. He managed a way to send messages to Kakashi about what he considered to be the best approach to any given situation. The only problem was that the messages were one sided. He wouldn't risk receiving one when he was constantly on the move. Although he was aware that Kakashi had eyes on him, which was what had facilitated him to send word to Kakashi, he was also aware that the North's military wasn't the only one keeping tabs on him.

Danzo's supporters were still about. With the connections that Orochimaru had gained and Sasuke subsequently inherited, he was able to look further into what had happened between Danzo and his brother. Any and all information he found, he redirected to Kakashi. Because deep down he knew that his brother wasn't a dissenter and if there was anything at all he could do to facilitate his brother's return to the military with honor, he did without any doubts.

When Sasuke finally dissolved all vestiges of Orochimaru's organization, he alongside his team reported to Kakashi. Suigetsu, Karin and Jugo were surprised to find out that the entire time they had been undercover and were glad that it was over. They were starting to fear the North's military and were grateful to Sasuke for clearing their names and didn't hold it against him for keeping the details of the mission from them. It was over. It was finally over and the three could finally relax. However, peace was not something they knew and began to become restless. But Kakashi found a way to keep them busy.

The time he had spent undercover took it's toll on his heart and mind to the point that he began to believe that the memories he had of Naruto were unreal. He asked himself on many occasions whether he had only imagined those three months he had spent with Naruto in North Straight. He wondered if Itachi had been taken into custody by Naruto and his team. He wondered if Naruto was still alive and if he was, did he even remember Sasuke?

With those thoughts in mind, Sasuke decided to return to Frondescence after having spent some time reconnecting with his brother who had, surprisingly, been waiting for him in the Municipal City.

As soon as Sasuke had returned to the North he found out his brother, who had disappeared along with Nagato and Konan, had helped Naruto bring Nagato down. Naruto had reported what happened to Kakashi. Itachi himself filled in the details of the lost time after he stopped reporting to Danzo. Because as it turned out, it had been Danzo who had cut ties with Itachi, not the other way around. Itachi kept records of every conversation and all the messages he had received from Danzo. It helped that Kakashi already knew that Danzo was helping the Akatsuki and decided to cut ties with them before he was linked to the dissenters. And so Kakashi believed Itachi's account of events and Itachi was reinstated in the military. With Itachi's experience, Kakashi was able to easily keep him as part of the King's cabinet.

When Sasuke settled in Frondescence, six years after he had last seen Naruto, he worked at the base there and put up with all of Kakashi's conference calls. Not to mention the mountains of paperwork the man sent his way. He even found time to train some of the newbies and was able to reconnect with a few of his old friends. Lucky for him, they had all been made aware of his undercover mission. At first, Itachi had lived with Sasuke for a couple of months but was called back to the Municipal City when a serious situation arose. Sasuke stubbornly refused to return and he was glad that he had made that decision. Especially when he literally ran into Naruto less than a month later.

It was at that moment that Sasuke realized that the time they had shared together really did happen and he truly believed that nothing would stand in his way of keeping Naruto at his side.

* * *

 _ **A/N: I thought that this would be the last chapter and considered doing a back and forth between past and future. But there were a few things that needed to be explained, some were rehashed, but it was the first time the lost six years between Sasuke and Naruto were placed in chronological order. In the last chapter, we learned why Naruto married Hinata and in this chapter, we found out why it took Sasuke six years to return. We see that the past and the present have a common factor, their timing always seems to be off. From the moment they met in which war was imminent, to their reunion on the battlefield and the subsequent time they spent together that they had to abandon due to being called into action, to the present where they each have their own lives and responsibilities.**_

 _ **There's only one chapter left to go.**_

* * *

 _ **Edited content 2/23/17 due to slight errors that were inconsistent with previous chapters.**_


	14. Unreal: Present

When Naruto woke up in the morning, he felt like he was in a fog. He couldn't think of anything that didn't require his immediate action. It was like only being able to see a mere inch in front of your own face. Such was his concentration at the moment, he could only think two minutes ahead. If anyone asked what he had done five minutes ago, he wouldn't be able to give you an answer. He was simply not registering anything other than the task at hand.

Get up.

Naruto lifted the covers up and swung his legs around. He forced himself to stand up. He stretched and rolled his shoulders. Bent down and touched his toes. Then he yawned loudly before decided what to do next.

Make the bed.

Naruto cleared the bed then pulled up the bottom corners of the fitted sheet and shook it before he tucked the corners back into place. He spread the top sheet evenly and tucked the corners. Then added the blanket and pillows.

Take a shower.

Naruto grabbed a change of clothes and went into the bathroom to shower. When he was done, he ran a hand over his face and decided he didn't need to shave. Once clean and dressed, Naruto went to check on his son. He checked the calendar besides Asashi's bed where the boy crossed off the days that had already passed in order to keep up with month and date as he was taught in school. Asashi had no idea how important it was for him to stay on top of that task for his dad's sake. Naruto would be truly lost without the added help of knowing what day of the week it was without having to check his phone.

"Asashi, hey bud," Naruto said and shook his son.

"Hmm?"

"Time to get up buddy," Naruto said and sat the boy upright. Asashi yawned and rubbed his eyes. Then hugged his dad. "Good morning, daddy!"

"Yeah, good morning," Naruto said with a soft smile and ruffled his son's hair. "Do you know what you have to do today?"

Asashi looked at his calendar and smiled. "I have to go to school and when I get back, we're going to bring my little sister home! Yay! Yay! Yay!" Asashi jumped off the bed and began to change out of his pajamas.

Naruto swallowed hard. He had forgotten about that. Sayuri was finally being released from the hospital. He smiled to himself and stood to head to the kitchen when his stomach grumbled.

Make breakfast.

Naruto busied himself making pancakes and scrambled eggs. The conversation he had with Asashi only minutes before was already forgotten. He placed two plates on the kitchen table with breakfast for himself and Asashi right as the boy ran into the kitchen full of excitement. Asashi grabbed a cup from the counter and gave it to Naruto asking for milk before he sat down to eat. Naruto did what was asked and grabbed the orange juice while he was at it. He poured a glass of juice for himself and milk for his boy.

"Daddy, do you want any syrup?" Asashi said as he leaned over the table and was holding the syrup above Naruto's pancake.

"Uh, no, probably not," Naruto said feeling unsure. But then he shook his head no when he saw Asashi hesitate to place the syrup back on the table. He took a sip of his juice and then began to eat.

"Daddy," Asashi said and forced himself to swallow. "What's it going to be like to have Sayuri home with us?"

"Um," Naruto said and scratched his chin in thought. "Not sure, bud. I think she's too small to crawl yet. She might just eat, sleep, and poop."

Asashi started to laugh very hard and that brought a smile to Naruto's face.

"I can't wait till school's over!" Asashi said and quickly finished his food before running to the bathroom to wash his face.

"Let's go! Let's go!" Asashi shouted from the doorway with his backpack in hand.

"Is it time already?" Naruto said a little disoriented when he was about to wash the dishes. "But…" He looked into the sink. He was supposed to wash the dishes. It was his next task. He hadn't thought ahead of that.

"Oh, it's okay, daddy," Asashi said and rushed into the kitchen to help Naruto clean up. "We have time to clean. I was in a hurry. Heh heh."

"Oh," Naruto said and began to hum to himself as he scrubbed the plates and rinsed them off.

As soon as the dishes were washed and the table was cleared, Naruto's phone alarm went off. He walked up the counter and turned off the alarm after he read what it was for. He unplugged the phone from the charger and grabbed his wallet and keys. He turned to look for Asashi who was waiting patiently by the door.

"Time to walk you to school," Naruto said with a soft smile.

"Let's go!" Asashi said and when they were out in the hallway Asashi happened to glance down. He tugged on Naruto's shirt sleeve. "Daddy, why aren't you wearing any shoes?"

"Huh?" Naruto said and looked down. He wasn't wearing any shoes. What did he need shoes for? Where was he going? Why was he locking the door? Naruto grabbed a fistful of hair and tried to force himself to remember what was happening. But as soon as he did, everything came back to him at once.

Sayuri's birth. Hinata's death. The funeral. Sasuke's confession. Sasuke was the King. Sasuke leaving. Moving from the apartment to the new house. Asashi not eating or sleeping. Watching Sasuke's coronation on TV. Taking Asashi to the emergency room. Asashi receiving therapy. Giving all his time to Asashi. Not visiting Sayuri. Trying to find a way to make it all work. Hiashi stepping in to help with Asashi. Hanabi setting reminders and alarms on Naruto's phone to keep him on track of his appointments, deadlines, school hours, and visitation schedules. The three began to take turns visiting Sayuri. Deciding to take it one moment at a time. Never giving himself time to cry.

Naruto slid down to his knees and a sob broke free.

When was the last time he cried? The day Sayuri was born...maybe. He needed to be strong for Asashi and Sayuri. He just hadn't been strong enough. He needed to get stronger.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" Asashi said feeling anxious. He didn't know how to make his dad feel better.

Naruto started to laugh through the tears. "Sorry, bud," he said with a crooked smile. He stood up slowly and wiped his face. He opened the door and went inside to grabbed a pair of shoes. "I just remembered my nightmare."

"Your nightmare? You have nightmares too?" Asashi asked surprised.

"Of course, I do. Everyone does," Naruto said and ruffled his son's hair before leading the way towards the front gate.

"What was your nightmare about?" Asashi said as he closed the gate behind him.

"It was scary! There were these huge hairy monsters and they ate all my shoes," Naruto said stretching out his hands above his head so that Asashi could see how big they were and he made the sounds of gobbling something up so that Asashi would know what it sounded like when huge hairy monsters ate his shoes.

Asashi laughed and shook his head. "No way!"

"It's true!" Naruto insisted and pointed at his feet. "So when you said that I wasn't wearing any shoes. I thought my nightmare was real and that they had eaten my favorite orange sneakers! Can you imagine?! My orange sneakers, gone! It was such a sad thought that I just had to cry!"

"Daddy, you're silly!" Asashi said and began to laugh and Naruto, for the first time in ages, laughed right along with him.

"Sayuri is coming home today," Naruto said after a moment and looked back towards their new home with a sad smile.

"Are you happy, daddy?" Asashi asked as he slid his small hand into Naruto's larger one.

"Yeah, I am," Naruto said and looked at Asashi with a wide smile.

"Me too!"

Naruto looked ahead and took a deep breath. Maybe he had gone about it all wrong, to begin with, but there was still time to make things better. Plus, Sasuke loved him. Sasuke actually loved him. Maybe it wasn't the right time for them to be together but in the future, they could be. Besides, his little family needed to stand on their own before they could decide whether or not they were going to take Sasuke's offer and move to the Municipal City. Naruto was strong enough or would make himself strong enough, to ensure that his family recovered emotionally, mentally, and physically. Naruto just needed to be determined and not to succumb to the pain. He didn't need to hide his memories away like a coward. He would face them. Besides, it was okay to be sad and happy at the same time. Those were Sasuke's words but they true all the same. In time, everything would turn out just fine.

But first, he would drop Asashi off at school and when he came back home, he would allow himself a moment to cry. Then perhaps, go out for a run. When was the last time he felt his lungs and muscles burn? It had been far too long.

* * *

Sasuke was tired. It had been another tiring day. He couldn't remember the last time he had a day off. It made him wish he was still working undercover. Back then his life wasn't this hectic. Between keeping a low profile and escaping, on some occasions, by the skin of his teeth he still found time to relax and sometimes that time was used to recover from serious injuries. But at the moment, he didn't even think that if there was an attempt on his life and he was shot that he be given more than an hour to get his shit together and get back to work. Wasn't he supposed to be the King of the North? And wasn't he supposed to have officials and secretaries do all the work for him while he lazily sat on the throne? This had to be Kakashi trying to pay him back for all that time he was the appointed regent. But that wasn't it at all. And Sasuke knew it. The problem was that he had stayed out of the limelight for so long that as soon as he surfaced and took the throne, he became a hot commodity.

Everyone and their sisters wanted an interview with the King. Sasuke didn't want to have anything to do with the press but according to his cabinet, it was necessary. He wondered often how he could get away with killing them all but then thought better of it. It was best to play nice with the press before they burned down his figurative castle including the moat and all. The press wanted to talk about all his accomplishments during the war, wanted to hear the details of how he took down Danzo and the head of the Akatsuki. As if he had done any of it on his own. His hands were tied about the six years he had been undercover but would give a vague reply to convey what he accomplished during that time. ' _The King that protected the kingdom from the shadows now steps into the light'_ was one of the more famous taglines.

After months of back to back press junkets and synchronized interviews on the air both TV and radio, Sasuke was finally able to slow the press down to a more manageable schedule. But then began the grueling meetings with other world leaders in their home turf. Sasuke spent months at a time overseas, behind closed doors for stressful meetings about small factions of terrorist groups sprouting up.

Kurotsuchi was more concerned with the small territories and islands that were not allied to any kingdom, her republic, or any other small nation and because of that, the quality of life of the people there was subpar at best. They were separated from technology, advances in medical care, not to mention didn't have the resources to educate their people properly. Trying to help all these people on top of trying to keep peace and care for their own people was proving to be difficult but not impossible. Sasuke had the press on his side but he needed a spokesperson to convince non-military persons to volunteer to serve in these territories alongside a minimal task force of combined forces between the kingdoms and even the republic to serve as a protection detail. Aside from volunteers, they needed donations. It took awhile for the world leaders to come to an agreement to help the outside territories. But once the proposal was accepted, the arduous task of bringing it to fruition was soon underway. Sasuke was glad that he was able to appoint a representative to take the lead as did all the others. Because helping others outside of their borders was all well in good but Sasuke needed to focus on his people and guarantee them continual peace.

And just like that, an entire year had flown by.

But it didn't mean that even with his busy schedule that he didn't think about Naruto at all. He did and often. Naruto didn't try to keep in touch with him and Sasuke knew that Naruto was probably just as busy as he was just in a different way seeing that he was responsible for a newborn baby that was growing quickly. The last he heard from them was probably six months back when he received a video message from the Uzumaki Family. Baby Sayuri was sitting up on her own on Asashi's lap.

 _Sasuke was confused when he started the video because all it showed was Asashi staring at the camera and smiling. He kept his hands busy, however, trying to make sure Sayuri stayed put but he wasn't saying a word. The baby was the more vocal of the two. She was blowing raspberries and looking around. Her hands would clutch her brother's or would try to get him to release her. But Asashi was not giving her the attention she craved and she started to cry. It seemed that keeping her in a position where she could feel her brother but not see him made her anxious._

" _Shh! Sayuri, not now," Asashi said and turned the baby around to face him. "We're going to talk to Sasuke. And if you're crying he'll think you don't like him. You probably don't remember him because you were so small and still in the hospital when he had to move away. But that's only because he's the King of the entire kingdom! And sometimes when I watch him on the news, I think they're hiding that he is really the King of the World! Sasuke is awesome! He helps people everywhere!"_

 _Sayuri began to babble and giggle while looking at her brother. Asashi looked away from her and past the camera._

" _Daaad!" Asashi whined and pouted. "When are you going to push the button?! I've been waiting for forever!"_

 _Naruto's laughter was heard and Asashi looked at his dad curiously._

" _It's been recording the entire time," Naruto told him and Asashi made a surprised face._

" _Why didn't you tell me?!" Asashi complained. "Sasuke, can you hear me?"_

" _He can't answer, Asashi," Naruto told him patiently. "Remember, we're recording a message for him to watch later. It's not like when you talk to your Uncle Neji on a real time- Wait, were you waiting for him to come up on the screen?"_

 _Asashi made a sour face and Naruto began to laugh very hard._

" _It's not funny dad!"_

" _I was wondering why you were sitting so quietly," Naruto said and chuckled. "I thought you were nervous and you looked so cute I didn't want to ruin the moment."_

" _Turn it off and start it over," Asashi said angrily and looked away._

" _Um, yeah," Naruto said and chuckled. "Sure."_

" _Not funny."_

" _Three...two...one," Naruto said and by the time he got to one, Asashi was poised and ready to go._

" _Sasuke! I miss you, Sasuke! But I know you're very very busy," Asashi was saying and Naruto sat beside him trying to control his amusement. He took Sayuri in his arms and kept his eyes on Asashi the entire time his son spoke with a smile on his face. "So I know you can't call us or visit. But...I wanted you to know that…"_

" _It's okay, bud, you can tell him," Naruto said and placed his hand on Asashi's shoulder for support. Asashi nodded._

" _That I graduated Kindergarten! I'm in the First grade now! And I wore a cap and gown," Asashi was saying and then he ran off._

" _Sasuke, he really misses you. And so do I. But know that we're doing well and that we hope you are too," Naruto said with a sincere smile. Sayuri started to slap his face and chuckled. Naruto smiled at her. Then after a harsh slap that stunned him momentarily, Naruto began to kiss her cheeks making the baby squeal and laugh harder._

 _Just then, Asashi returned. He was dressed in his cap and gown. He held a picture up for Sasuke to see._

" _This is what I looked like! Awesome, huh?! And this is my class," Asashi thrust the picture closer to the camera. "And guess what? Dad made cookies for everyone! And they weren't burnt!"_

" _Of course they weren't!" Naruto protested. "Who would give children burnt cookies?!"_

 _Asashi made a face at the camera as if he was telling Sasuke, 'remember when he almost burned down the apartment making cookies?'_

 _Asashi continued to tell him as much as he could about his new class. He included everything he could think of about Sayuri and the moments where Naruto completely messed up while changing her diapers or making a bottle. Naruto cut in to defend himself._

 _Sasuke wiped the stray tears from his face and chuckled as he watched them interact._

After that day, every time Sasuke's life became so hectic that he started to feel his memories of Naruto and Asashi become so hazy that it felt like his moments with Naruto seemed unreal, he would watch the video that they sent him. He had saved it on his laptop so that he could access it on his phone. So when he was on a plane or a helicopter or being driven from one place to another by Sai and he couldn't remember what Naruto looked liked or what his voice sounded like, he would play the video. But it was getting harder and harder for him to simply watch a video and be okay with just that. So Sasuke, the ever impulsive man that he was, arranged a flight to Frondescence in the middle of the night. He had two days where he didn't have a scheduled meeting or press junket, and whatever needed to be done he would be able to do it on his phone or his laptop. Because it would more than likely only be him reviewing more paperwork or answering emails. Kakashi and his brother could give him a lecture if they wanted upon his return. Because right at this moment, the King of the North was visiting not another world leader or nosy gossip columnist but his friend and once lover, the man he loved and wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

This time around, he wouldn't take no for an answer and he wouldn't allow a waiting period. In two days time, Naruto, Asashi, and Sayuri would be living in the Municipal City with him. No one could oppose him. And no one better dare to either.

* * *

 _ **A/N: This is the end of the fic. Truthfully, I hadn't envisioned it to end this way. But after the last (present) chapter came about the way it did, I had to end it like this. I like the way this chapter turned out - even if it is a little rough - because it felt real, ironically. I enjoyed writing it and hope you enjoyed reading it. Now, on to the next story. Heh.**_


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